Lochness
Loch Ness is a spectacular stretch of water although the A82 alongside can be quite busy. The natural Highland vegetation that lines its banks, birch, alder, rowan and hazel trees, now struggle to resist the intense forestry schemes of pine that continue to engulf wide swathes of the Highlands. It was the construction of this road in the 1930s that sparked off the modern craze for monster spotting when workmen and locals claimed many sightings. Perhaps the digging and blasting disturbed the monster. The first mention of 'Nessie', as he or she is colloquially known, goes back to St Adamnan's chronicle of St Colomba who had to placate the monster following its attack on a fellow monk. For the chance of a closer encounter with the monster, the best bet might be to go underwater. Operating from the Clansman Marina about 6 miles (l0km) south of Inverness is the Swatch Loch Ness Submarine where a small submersible dives several times a day to the floor of the loch usually at around 400ft (122m). As it is primarily a scientific project, various daily missions are set to observe things like plankton, fish or sediment. Samples of the sediment taken by the submarine show changes in the atmosphere over the past 10,000 years and incidents such as Chernobyl and the accumulated debris from the Industrial Revolution. Visibility is good at lower levels although, because of the peat stain in the water, it is a bit like diving through a glass of whisky. Places in the submarine are limited so advance reservations are nearly always necessary. Contact the local tourist information centre for details (Tel 01456 450709).
At Drumnadrochit, a third of the way down the loch, the Loch Ness
experience congeals into a mass of commercial monster madness. The
best chance visitors may have of seeing the elusive Nessie is by
standing next to the model in the pond at the 'The Official Loch
Ness Monster Exhibition Centre'. Using sight and sound in a multi-media
presentation, the centre offers facts about the monster and leaves
you to draw your own conclusion. There are shops and craft outlets
as well as a restaurant, lounge bar, coffee shop and hotel at Drumnadrochit. Urquhart Castle was once one of the largest castles in Scotland and it stands on a rocky outcrop that juts out into the loch, part of a series of forts that controlled the Great Glen. Since Pictish times the site has been strategic. It was partly dismantled by the English during the Jacobite rebellion to avoid it becoming a rebel outpost and through the centuries since, its decay has continued. The castle is reached by crossing the defensive ditch and entering the crumbled stone walls through a series of arches and tunnels before reaching the outer loch-side walls and tower. The cavern where Ted Danson finally meets the monster in 'Loch Ness', the movie, unfortunately does not exist - as far as I know! The A82 continues through Invermoriston where you can take a diversion through Glen Moriston to see the memorial for Roderick McKenzie, a follower and look-alike of Bonnie Prince Charlie. He was captured and killed by the Redcoats but before he died he bravely cried 'You have killed your prince' thus delaying the pursuit of the true monarch.
Fort Augustus is a crossing point of the Caledonian Canal and the
main A82. Here, sailors and their craft often gather at the quaysides
and adjourn to the bars, waiting to pass through the locks the next
morning. Following the 1715 Jacobite uprising, a garrison was established
in the town to quell further trouble. A fort was built named after
George II's son, William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, later to
become known throughout the Highlands as 'Butcher Cumberland' following
his victory at Culloden and the subsequent atrocities carried out
on the vanquished Highlanders. The fort was dismantled and incorporated
into an abbey, now a public school with its church open to visitors.
A golf course is found on the edge of town, moved there in 1925
to make way for tree planting. The proviso was that the course would
have to share the ground with sheep, which remains so today. |
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