Day 7 - Of Lochs and Locks
Leaving the fine Kingsmill Hotel, it was cloudy but soon there was enough blue sky showing to, as my father would say, “make a Dutchman a pair of pants.” And, ere long, the sky had cleared and we were, indeed, in for a fine day. As we made our way south along Loch Ness, we were eager to see signs of the wee beastie that inhabits the loch. Alex had, in fact, guaranteed us just such a sighting and, true to his word, of a sudden we spied the “monster” on our right. Unfortunately, we learned that this particular beastie was but a caricature. However, soon we arrived at a sight that I truly did find to leave me in awe - Urquhart Castle. In “Tramps and Hawkers” reference is made to “Urquhart's fairy glen” and there was something magical about this one as there seems to about all such castles, especially those in ruins.
Urquhart was initially constructed sometime in the early 13th century. It has been occupied by various clans including the MacDonalds (the Lord of the Isles). The castle was partly destroyed in 1692 to keep it from falling back into the Jacobites hands. This is the castle you always see on any documentary about the Loch Ness Monster. It sits on a point overlooking the widest portion of the Loch.
From Urquhart we proceeded south along Loch Ness until we came to Ft. Augustus. Ft. Augustus lies along the Caledonian Canal which runs along the Great Glen from Inverness in the north to Ft. William in the south. The canal is 22mi. in length, excluding the Lochs themselves, and contains no fewer than 29 locks to ease the traffic from one level to the next.
Continuing southward, we stopped for a quick photo opportunity at the Well of the Seven Heads. In 1661, on the death of MacDonald of Keppoch, his estate was put in the hands of seven kinsmen until the return of his two sons from schooling in France. On their return, the seven executors murdered the sons. On being found guilty and put to death, the seven heads were washed in the well and presented to MacDonnell of Glengarry. If you wish, you can drink from the well.
Just fifteen minutes south of The Well is the Commando Memorial. Unveiled in 1952, the memorial is dedicated to the men of the British Commando Forces raised during WWII. Located in Lochaber, it overlooks the Commando Training Depot established at Anchnacarry Castle in 1942.
We continued south along the Great Glen to Ft. William. From here, we turned west along Loch Eil until we came to the northern point of Loch Sheil and Glinfinnan. It was on this site that Bonnie Prince Charlie, who had only days before landed at Eriskay in the Western Isles, raised his royal standard on August 19th of 1745. Thus began the final effort of the Jacobites to recapture the British Throne, the so called Bold 45 that was to culminate in the Battle of Culloden just over a year later as related earlier. I climbed the thistle lined winding path to view Loch Shiel from a different perspective. As I gazed down the Loch from this vantage point, it was easy to imagine the sounds of triumph and hope raised by the highlanders. As I reflected on their efforts, noble as they were, the final words came to me from “Charlie's Landing”, Lady Nairns lament, written of the small number of supporters that initially arrived at Glenfinnan - “...though now they are few, their heart's are true, they will live and die for Charlie.” How true these words would prove to be.
We all reboarded the coach, much humbled from the experience at Glenfinnan and retraced our route back then south to Ft. William and then proceeded south along Loch Linnhe and on through the port town of Oban until we arrived at our Loch inn for the next two nights – The Loch Melfort Hotel. As we retired for the night, the winds off of the loch grew steadily stronger. The forecast for the next day was gail force winds with driving rain. If this did in fact materialize, it would sorely tax our tolerance level.
Day 8 - A Pilgrimage to Iona