Last month as a bit of an escape, Ailish and I had a few nights staycation, with one night spent in Inverness and another in Nairn. Originally at the end of September we were going to be attending a wedding, but with that cancelled and excess work leave still to take, we decided to head off all the same for a bit of escapism. The car *might have* needed a service too, but that’s besides the point. All the same, after months indoors and looking at mostly the same walls, we had a few nights staying somewhere else for honestly the first time since March and it was incredibly refreshing.
With a worldwide Covid pandemic still largely in progress (and particularly in Scotland) we weren’t really keen for much shopping or crowded streets so when we reached Inverness we kept going and went to Castle Urquhart just outside Drumnadrochit, and next to Loch Ness. This is a place i’ve been wanting to revisit for a few years now, only vaguely remembering a trip there when I was much much younger. The drive there and heading south out of Inverness was warm with bright beautiful scenery. We followed great roads under trees beckoning us down the map and to the loch; a loch certainly a lot bigger than what I remembered. We passed lots of great houses and small hamlets and drove by plenty of parked would-be-photographers, before the sight of the castle on the edge of the loch began to appear in earnest; everything picturesque as hell.
Even though the castle has been there 800 years the afore-mentioned virus really has changed everything socially, so booking tickets the night before was a requirement for entry. As we drove in this was reiterated again, and the restrictions and changes outlined. Masks optional when outside, stick to the right of the paths where you can. the cafe is closed for sitting in. There were a few cars there and people milling about but I fully expect the ticket pre-order had maybe caught a few tourists and visitors off guard. Advantage us. As with the loch, the walk down to the castle was equally bigger than what I remembered from my childhood, but with mostly clear skies, a soft breeze, and a reduction in numbers it was incredible to see the castle and it’s surroundings open up as we trod passively downhill.
Castle Urquhart’s history is one of much conflict with the castle itself participating in numerous battles, wars, and raids while in use over a period of roughly 500 years. It shows. A motte and bailey fortification founded in the 13th century, the castle’s place in history gave it a supporting role in The Wars of Scottish Independence changing hands between Scotland and England (and vice versa) before subsequently being owned by a series of Scottish clans and families. During exchanges destructions and renovations shaped the castle into the structure that it is now- a composite of leftovers, extensions, and rebuilds; defenses added as combat continued and time passed. By the end of the eighteenth century the actual castle was roofless, mostly ruin, and a scenic wonder only to artists and tourists alike. Which takes us to this post today… I’m not the artist.
The skies opened as we made our way down the hill to the castle proper as we passed a repro-educational trebuchet and crossed what would have been the drawbridge upto the gatehouse to seek shelter. Like the rest of the castle the gatehouse has suffered destruction in parts with collapsed masonry visible on approach, but the structure itself is mostly still there- as the rain continued quite heavily now it provided shelter to a number of us, though, alarmingly not always socially distanced. We left and took our chances elsewhere in the grounds, exploring the wall remains of the “castle-toun” assortment of smithy, great hall, and doocot. That there were once pigeons housed and farmed in the castle grounds to provide eggs and subsequently meat in the winter surprised me a lot more than I would have thought.
Grant Tower, the towerhouse is perhaps the postcard centrepiece of the castle remains, but due to pesky virus restrictions yet again we weren’t allowed to climb fully to the top. Nontheless we still got to explore the interior of the five-storey structure -one way paths- and hang hands and phones out of windows and openings to take photos of a now quite bleak and stormy surrounding loch. The Jacobite Ferry was on the water- thankfully no signs of any monster activty.
The sun did reappear after a while and the skies warmed but by this time we were mostly back up the hill and in the car. We headed back to Drumnadrochit and decided to visit The Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition, an impressive looking building and bright garden that was once The Drumnadrochit Hotel. Ailish had been here when she was younger; a ‘museum’ about the loch and all the scientific discoveries and wonder it had generated over the last century. This time there was no mention of middle-ages conflict or battle, but the experience was a bit of a ruin itself.
The hotel experienced a devastating fire in 1984 so while the outside looks forgive me (again) picturesque as hell, the inside is a weird plastic cavern misery where you go from one room to the next watching very dated timed videos on a projector. I read as much in the reviews on the Tripadvisor page but we gave the place the benefit of the doubt and decided to go. It’s…okay for what it is, but zero interactivity and the attraction could probably learn quite a bit from the edutainment and joy of places like The Edinburgh Dungeons et al, but that’s just me. The place had an ironic B-movie esque charm but it hurt me more knowing that it and the accompanying cafe, tourist hotspot to world-famous Loch Ness definitely had a lot more potential, just maybe not the inspiration.
Fear of open water -yes, that one, i’m that person- meant we didnt go on a cruise or boatride of the loch, but with an afternoon of rain soaked into my clothes and a chill from dated attractions freezing my bones, we went back to the car and headed off. I’m really glad we visited the loch that day because with so much reiteration of everything on the news and social media and even day to day it felt great to break that cycle a little and go somewhere new and genuinely different, without having to travel too far. Yes, it was only one day, but that really made a difference; the castle itself inspired me quite a bit in regards to my ongoing long-fabled work-in-progress Lego Castle, and I left with a new desire to learn more about Scottish history. I would definitely recommend anyone reading to not just visit the castle ruins, but the loch itself at some point- there’s no certainty of monster sightings, but you’re guaranteed some equally impressive views away from home.