Loch Ness and Scottish Highlands Tour
Have you ever dreamed of catching a glimpse of Nessie, the legendary monster who is said to make her home in Scotland’s Loch Ness? I recently took a day tour from Edinburgh to do just this. We also got to stop and see some of the Scottish Highlands. This day was a huge highlight of my trip and I wanted to share our day with you.
We (me, my husband, my brother, and my sister-in-law) started the day by meeting our tour company and guide (Rabbies) at the bus station after a quick stop for breakfast and coffee at one of the only places open that early in the morning, Black Sheep Coffee. I had a nutella and berry waffle that was better than the counterpart so many people love in Walt Disney World. Sorry Disney fans, I said what I said. I guess you will just have to go to the UK and find a Black Sheep Coffee to compare for yourself!
Transportation note: We walked everywhere in Edinburgh and it was very easy to get around using Google Maps. You could have definitely hired a cab or other ride service to take you depending on where you were staying.
Once we met our tour guide, we loaded the bus and discovered that even though we were early, we were the last ones to board. Definitely be extra early if you care where you sit on the bus. We ended up being separated, but that was okay.
Our tour guide, Ross, was great. As we drove, he talked about what we were seeing and gave us a lot of the history of Scotland. While it was a long drive to Loch Ness, it was broken up quite well with the stops we made. I think the longest stretch we were ever in the bus was a little over an hour.
Everything was gorgeous here. I couldn’t take my eyes off the window because every turn led to something that seemed even more beautiful. It was so green and seemingly serene. I couldn’t stop taking pictures.
It is not surprising that many movies and TV shows have been filmed in the Highlands. Some highlights for me were getting a small glimpse of Doune Castle, which was used as all of the castles in Monty Python and the Holy Grail as well as Winterfell from Game of Thrones. (This castle is on the top of my list of places to go to when I go back to Scotland someday. Tour Guide Ross told us they sold coconuts in the gift shop. IYKYK.), hearing about some Harry Potter scenes that were filmed in the area, and also Claire and Jaime riding through the countryside in Outlander. We also got to see Skyfall, which is famously used in the opening of the James Bond movie of the same name (pictured below).
Our next stop was the Glencoe Visitor Centre where we got to see a model of a traditional Highlander grass house, as well as take in the beautiful scenery.
Fun fact (if you know me, you know I love my fun facts): did you know there are no trespassing laws here? You are allowed to stop and set up camp on anyone’s property and as long as you leave it as nice or nicer than you found it, you are welcome to stay. There are several hiking trails you can take. Some people hike the entirety and camp as needed, some people make strategic stops along the way in the towns they pass. We did see several people walking one of the major ones near the Visitor Centre.
Once we got to Loch Ness, we had a set amount of time to eat lunch and explore. We chose to take the boat tour out on the lake, so we grabbed a quick sandwich and made our way to the queue. This was all we had time for here, but there really wasn’t much else to see. They fit a ton of people on the large vessel and you can choose to sit up top in the open air or down below in the cover. They have a concession stand on board and a guide to give you facts about the lake. The things I didn’t realize are that the lake is 23 miles long and the water is really dark and very cold. The guide said it would be similar to swimming through a glass of Guinness beer if you went in, but it is so cold swimming is not something people do there.
Small canal out to the loch
Ready to board!
Sitting on the top! Get in the queue early if you want your pick of seats. We failed at that and ended up in the middle near the front of the top deck and while we could see, it wasn’t my preferred location.
People started moving about so we got a little closer to the side of the boat. Still on the lookout for Nessie.
Spoiler alert, but we didn’t catch Nessie. They have sonar on board and they track during every trip, and there have been some readings of large masses way down deep in the water, but they haven’t been able to actually explore what they are based on the depth and darkness of the water. So maybe Nessie is lurking down there somewhere…who knows. As for us, we “found” her via a fun feature of a sticker in a window on the upper deck.
On our way back to Edinburgh, we got to stop and meet some Highland Coos (hairy cows). While they weren’t in the wild, it was still very fun to see them up close. They had a baby, too, who is still growing her hair out. She was close enough to the fence that she was letting people pet her a little, too.
Keeping a watchful eye on the people and his/her baby
Maggie Moo, the calf
All in all, this was an excellent tour and I definitely recommend it if you do not have a car to drive around on your own. Actually, I would still recommend it based on everything I learned about Scottish history and the places we were driving past that I may not have realized if we were driving it on our own. It was a long day, but well worth the time and money in my opinion!
Have you visited Scotland? Do you want to? What do you want to see most?
