The drive east through the Highlands and along the Caledonian Canal to Loch Ness was beautiful. Winding through steep hills and passed trickling streams, the road zigs and zags as it follows one of the most well worn paths in the Highlands, and it is alive with the souls of the travelers of yesterday, their voices and bagpipes echoing off the mountainsides. 

As we approached Loch Ness, the forests thickened, growing right up to the edge of the 24 mile long, 305 meter deep lake. At only one mile at its widest, it is easy to see across the loch to the opposite shore, which appears all but devoid of life. On the western shore near the half way point stand the ruins of 13^th century Urquhart Castle, which was blown up by government supporters in 1692 to prevent it falling into Jacobite hands. Urquhart’s lochside setting is striking, and though it is mostly a crumbled wreck of walls, one tower still stands, enabling visitors to climb its heights for magnificent views of the famous Loch Ness. We spent a great deal of time staring out at the beautiful scenery, and searching for the Loch Ness Monster. The weather was nippy and the loch water near freezing, but that did not deter a young group of German visitors from stripping down to their undergarments to take a dip. We and the other visitors got a good chuckle at their antics. 

Upon leaving Urquhart Castle, we continued east a short distance to the Loch Ness Centre located in the village of Drumnadrochit. The audio-visual exhibition examined the search for the world’s most famous monster. Though obviously well thought out and scientifically examined, we left feeling the show was not worth the steep entrance fee. Outside in a tiny pond stood a statue of the most famous interpretation of the Loch Ness Monster, eagerly awaiting photographers’ lenses instead of hiding from them.