Part 4: In pursuit of great writers, lochs, whisky, wildcats and love… Scotland

INVERNESS Thurs 8.  We are on our way to Inverness, travelling through the Highlands towards Loch Ness.

We stop for lunch in the middle of the hills and mountains of Glenmoriston and get our first close glimpse of a Highland Coo (cow).

Unfortunately, the little herd is not interested in being photographed so I only get a pic of one curious little fellow.

We tell the café owners that these ‘coos’ are almost as scarce as hens teeth – we haven’t seen many at all!

Our travels take us around and along the shores of Loch Ness. Nessy is nowhere to be seen – apparently she was getting her hair done!

We do, however, find Urquhart Castle along the way and stop to have a look. It’s an impressive site and was once one of Scotland’s largest castles. It’s had a bloody past with battles over its ownership and hosted noble families – the Durwards, MacDonalds and the Grants.

We walk up its remaining intact tower and enjoy views of the loch. When we return to the info centre, we watch a short movie about the history of the castle and are impressed by the curtain opening and showing an impressive view of the castle – we realise we should have done this before we walked the site.

Just a small sample of the miles of trenches
that make up Fort George

On to Inverness and the YHA. Our room is on the corner of the building and we are within walking distance to the town centre.

The next day, we take a drive out to Fort George, but the cold day and my under-the-weather health and bitter cold wind sees us just visiting the info centre.

Inverness, known as the Capital of the Highlands, is home to 65,000 people.

In the afternoon, we take in the city, visiting the Victorian Market and the infamous Leakey’s Bookshop.

The bookshop is stacked with second hand books - from floor to second floor ceiling. I love books but I'm not fond of the smell of old books...

The Inverness Castle is impressive and watches over the city and River Ness.

We visit the museum and learn about the history of the area as well as seeing 'stuffed' wild animals which include a red fox, some badgers and a sea eagle.

Whenever we read about the history of Scotland, we are amazed by the blood thirsty-ness of its past – its battles and wars over land. The local people we meet, however, are kind and friendly – thank goodness!

We discover some of Inverness' beautiful historic buildings
such as H. Dunbar's Hospital, built originally in 1668 for the poor,
and later as a Grammar School until 1792.