|
(Arnie Greenberg has taken on just about every travel challenge there is, but in this article, he goes after the proverbial monster of Loch Ness. Join him! -- Editor) By
Arnie Greenberg Everyone has heard of the Loch Ness Monster, but few people from North America visit this lovely corner of Scotland. I did and found more than I bargained for. No, I didn't find Nessie or Nessiterras Rhombopteryx, as she's scientifically known, but I did find a lovely 70-mile-long drive through some of the most spectacular scenery the Scottish Highlands has to offer. From Inverness in an anti-clockwise direction, I found places with names that made me swoon, trying to pronounce them. I followed the A82 to Dochgarroch, through Lochend, past Abriach, Drumnadrochit, Invermoriston and Fort Augustus at the end of Loch Ness. I returned on the opposite shore through Inverfarigang, with its rugged gorge, once visited by Dr. Samuel Johnston and his biographer James Boswell, and Dores (famous for its pottery) back to Inverness. I did not spot Nessie, except in the souvenir shops where statues, stuffed replicas or monster-shaped carvings abound. I stopped frequently, binoculars in hand, but to no avail. What I did discover, however, was a series of stopovers with charming people, great food and wonderful vistas. I ate the usual Haggis, which they drenched in local Scotch. I may not order it again, but it was an interesting experiment. Later I tried the Scotch without the Haggis -- it was more to my liking. The ubiquitous monster has made Loch Ness the most famous in the world. There are lakes wider and deeper (Loch Ness is 700 feet deep), but few are more beautiful on a sunny summer's day. Monster spotting is the thing to do, and since the A82 was opened in 1933, there have been hundreds of 'reported sightings.' Some say there is a whole colony of monsters in the Loch. The story of a strange animal in Loch Ness goes back to 565 A.D., when St. Columba was reported to have driven back a roaring beast that was attacking a villager on the shores of the Loch. Was
it fiction and imagination, or could it have been a prehistoric creature stranded
by retreating glaciers, or released from frozen suspended animation by the thaw
of the last Ice Age? Can it be only a floating log or a swimming elephant? I returned to the lovely Northern Scottish city of Inverness with its modern museums, peaceful parks and wonderful vistas. I was lucky enough to be staying with friends, whose imposing home stands beside the River Ness. It was a stay I will long remember with good food, plenty to drink and the exchange of stories, ideas and dreams. I was in a country whose towns I couldn't pronounce, whose bloody clan history I couldn't understand, whose dancing was foreign to my Canadian traditions and whose landscape I was seeing for the first time. But I knew then that I would go back some day and sail on Loch Ness without fear of a creature that I believe lies quietly feeding in the icy waters 700 feet below. I will return, especially, to the ruins of Urquhart Castle, blown up by Jacobites during an uprising. The castle is one of the most photographed in Scotland, once held by Robert the Bruce against Edward III. I will return one day. I'll sail or go boating, especially as the sun begins to set. There are places to stay, a camping park at Borlum Farm. You can cycle, take a tour, pony-trek, drive or hike. But 'monster spotting' is the thing to do. Maybe you'll get lucky. This is one of the most peaceful most visual places I know. You should add it to your agenda. Visit the Loch Ness 2000 Exhibition Centre at Drumnadrochit as you leave Inverness on the north shore. Take the time to see their multi-media exhibition. General information about travel to Scotland is available at www.visitscotland.com. (For more travel by Arnie Greenberg, click here).
| ||
 |
