The weather turned again and we woke up to a low pressure front dumping rain on most of Scotland. We bundled everything into the car and headed off the island. There was not a spot to take pictures and besides, it was raining.

We drove through Kyle of Localsh to Eileen Donan Castle on the point of two lochs - Alsh and Duich. This castle is iconic and was featured in the movies The Highlander and the World is Not Enough. It is a beautifully restored castle owned by clan MacRae. The castle has a storied history and the tale is told of a local chief whose son could converse with the birds. The birds told him that his father would serve him a meal and when the son told his father, the father didn't believe him and cast him out. The son used his unusual talents to travel and amass a great wealth. When he returned, his father did not recognize his son who was now very rich. The father invited him to a meal and served him a meal thus fulfilling the prophecy. When the son revealed himself to his father, all was forgiven and they reconciled.

Over the years, the castle was sacked and destroyed many times. Finally in 1908, the MacRae clan bought the land and started to rebuild the castle as a summer hunting lodge. The rebuilding paused for WWI and was completed when the bridge connected the castle on the island to the mainland in 1932. The keep is the most original part of the castle with walls 4.5 meters thick and contained cannonballs from sea based attacks.

The castle is well appointed and comfortable. The family made it roomy and it is still in use today. Paintings of relatives mix with more recent photographs of weddings. The walls are adorned with historical maps and lists of rolls of MacRaes who have earned honors in battles. It was easily our favorite castle.

We followed the A87 back to Loch Ness and explored the Loch Ness Centre. It is a campy and fun exploration of the geological history of the loch and the sightings of Nessie. They discussed the efforts of many to prove the existence of the monster and then showed how difficult it would be for a monster to exist. The 250 meter deep loch doesn't support enough of a food chain to support a monster nor does it have the geological record to support a monster. It doesn't matter to the legions of Nessie fans around the world. Nessie lives!

A short mile down the road lies the ruins of Urquhart Castle. This castle has a truly gory history changing hands between the Scots and English so many times it's unclear who was the victor. Is is fact that the clan Grant, who were the last to control the castle, that they blew up the main entrance and set the castle aflame and marched out at the end of the 1500s. The ruins remain and there is an outline of what was once a grand and impressive castle dominating the loch. We toured the ruins in the rain and still enjoyed it.

Hotel: Glenmoriston Town House
Restaurant(s): Riva (Italian)
Attractions: Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, Inverness, Eilean Donan Castle, Loch Ness Centre