It was a rainy/drizzly bus ride back to Kyle of Lochalsh, then in & out of rain on train ride to Inverness. Another walk, but not uphill all the way, to the guest house (Ach Aluinn; love the hosts Margaret and Angus),
and then out to take care of some laundry. Note: with so many people using mobile phones that have Internet access, Internet cafes are tougher to find these days. The next day we took it easy, and just wandered around city centre. Rained most of the day. Checked out the Inverness Museum and Art Gallery (good and quite informative). We had supper at Johnny Foxes (good steak & mushroom pie and good cider).
The next day we took the city bus out to Culloden to see the Jacobite battle site, and learn more about the battle itself. They have a great exhibit in the main building, and we enjoyed the guided outdoor tour (good job by the guide, given how soaked by the rain she must've been!).
Back to Inverness, where we walked along the great path they have beside & across the River Ness. Too bad we couldn't get inside Inverness Castle—currently used for government business—but at least I could take some pictures outside. Finished the day with a delicious dinner at Urquharts; first haggis of the trip!
Next day off to see monsters! Well, where a monster supposedly lives, in Loch Ness. Bus ride to the drop-off point, then a boat ride along Loch Ness; sun came out! We arrived at the ruins of Urquhart Castle. Nice spot, but very busy (a few busloads there at the same time we were). After checking out the castle, off to the Loch Ness Centre. Unfortunately, it's rather cheesy and we didn't feel it was worth the extra money (we thought there'd be more information about the geography, geology, and history of the loch and area).
