Loch Ness & Inverness to St. Andrews

Leaving the Isle of Skye via the Skye Bridge to Kyle of Lochalsh, we had spectacular views of the Sound of Sleat – the sea passage between the Isle of Skye and mainland Scotland. On the road to Dornie along the banks of Loch Dutch we stopped at Eilean Donan Castle–very picturesque and famous for the film “Highlander” which starred Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery. We then passed through 2 beautiful valleys or glens: Glen Shiel and Glen Morrison below mountains known as the “Five Sisters of Kintail” on the way to our boat tour on Loch Ness., which included a visit to Urquhart Castle ruins with  the only Trebuchet (catapult) we saw. Driving past Inverness, the “Capital of the Highlands,” we reached our hotel Kincraig Castle—more like a manor house. Our favorite castle is Dunrobin which is huge and gorgeous—on the scale of Highclere, the setting of Downton Abbey and has been home to many generations of the Earls and Dukes of Sutherland. We toured around the Inverness area, finally meeting a small herd of HighLand cattle.  See our Travelog for more details.