Day 34: Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle

Today was all about Loch Ness.

We headed out from Inverness down to Loch Ness.

The roads were a bit twisty and bumpy, especially in our coach bus which could barely make a few of the turns; it was pretty exciting. 

We had gorgeous weather for our lake visit, with the sun coming out and the clouds reflecting beautifully. 

We went on a boat cruise of the lake, and saw the Loch Ness monster (through a particular window)! Go to facebook to check it out. 

 After our cruise, we had lunch in Fort Augustine and then headed back out around Loch Ness to go to Urquhart Castle.

It's really just the ruins of a castle, but they were cool to explore and we got a pretty good view from the top of the castle tower.

Another drive around Loch Ness, and it was time for McDonald's (like the fourth time in as many days), homework and packing for the next leg of our adventures!

Not a fan of packing,
The Purple Writer

Day 29: Glamis Castle & Arbroath Abbey

We spent a day on a private bus, traveling to several beautiful locations around Dundee.

Our first stop was at Glamis Castle, which we were able to get a tour of the inside.

The tour took about an hour and then we had another hour to explore some of the gardens on the extensive (thousands of acres) grounds.

We headed from Glamis Castle into Forfar for lunch and then drove over to Arbroath.


We had some time to explore Arbroath Abbey, which had some beautiful ruins, tall towers, and long rows of gravestones.


There was actually a wedding taking place in the Abbey when we arrived, so we got to watch the ending of the ceremony and hear bagpipes as we started exploring.

We had some extra time in Arbroath, so we all split up to explore different sections of the city, focusing on the cliffs, beach, and harbor.

Lauren and I walked to the cliffs and enjoyed the view and nice breeze for a while before heading down to the beach to dip our toes in the edge of the North Sea.


Loving these full days of adventures and beautiful sights,
The Purple Writer