Today is our scenic cruising day.  Beginning with our drive down the coast of Loch Ness, we kept our eyes peeled for a glimpse of Nessie, the infamous sea monster of Loch Ness.  Unfortunately, there was no Nessie in sight, the best we could do was a Nessie refrigerator magnet to commemorate the occasion.    Loch Ness is really just Gaelic for Lake Ness, formed by the River Ness that was right outside our hotel last night in Inverness.  It’s a typical fresh water lake, about 23 miles long and about 2 miles wide, but its maximum depth is about 750 ft!  Perfect depth to harbor a sea monster!

The views along Loch Ness were beautiful as we headed to our first stop, the Commando Memorial, located in Lochaber, Scotland, about a mile from Spean Bridge.  It was opened in 1952 as a war memorial for WW2 British Commando forces with a statue of 3 British Commandos in uniform overlooking the Commando Training Centre at Achnacarry Castle.  Also visible from the monument is Nen Nevis, the highest mountain in the entire United Kingdom at 4413 ft.   Besides the statue, there is also an Ashes Scattering Ground for British Commandos wishing their ashes scattered at the site, and a Memorial Garden consisting of small mementoes of fallen commandos placed by their families.  The garden is still in use today and contains many mementoes of fallen commandos from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

After our visit to the memorial, we made a rest stop just down the road at the Spean Bridge Woolen Mill, to use the facilities and check for souvenirs.  We were soon back on the road as we headed into Glen Coe, Gaelic for Valley of the River Coe.  Glen Coe is regarded as the home of Scottish mountaineering as it contains many miles of walking and hiking paths throughout the glen and up the surrounding mountains.  As we passed through, its popularity was evident by the many hikers we saw along the various trails.  Jody and I were a little jealous as we both really enjoy a good hike, and while some of these looked extremely strenuous, others were just within our skill level.

So most of our time was spent just enjoying the scenery as we drove by, snapping a few pictures out the windows of the bus.  But the bus pictures really cant do justice to the beauty of Glen Coe.  The other interesting story of Glen Coe is the story of the Glen Coe Massacre, where in 1692, 38 men along their families who were members of Clan MacDonald were murdered in their sleep by members of Clan Campbell for failing to pledge allegiance to the new king and queen.   Supposedly, there are still establishments in the area that have signs stating that members of Clan Campbell will not be served in remembrance of the massacre.

Soon we had passed through Glen Coe, and came to the next stop in our travels, the famous Loch Lomond.  Made famous by the 19^th century song “The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond”, Loch Lomond is actually part of the Trossachs National Park.  Our visit to Loch Lomond included a private cruise of the loch, lunch and stories of the loch by the captain.  Lunch was great, and a good cup of hot coffee did a lot to warm the bones from the chill on the lake.  But the sun had come out and it wasn’t too cold as we saw two of the many small islands on Loch Lomond.  The first contained the ruins of a small castle, and the second was called “Honeymoon Island”, and the legend says that newlyweds were sent to spend a week on the island and if at the end of a week they were still on good terms, then the marriage would be successful.

The cruise was very relaxing, as we both enjoy a little time cruising around the lake.   But it was over too soon, as we made our way back to the bus to continue our journey.    As we continued down the road, we passed on the outskirts of Glasgow, and the city of Lockerbie, sight of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing in 1988.   Today has been a long bus day covering over 300 miles.  The Scottish Highlands are remote, and it was a long ride up and a long ride back, without a lot of activities and attractions except for the natural beauty.  We wanted to see what it was like in person, and it was certainly worth the ride.

In the end, we crossed back over into the west coast of England, to our hotel, The Castle Green, overlooking the town of Kendal.  The hotel is exactly the kind we like, privately owned, maybe a little older and not quite up to date, but clean, comfortable, and charming.  The gardens are beautiful, and there are even lambs grazing nearby.  Dinner was delicious with a huge portion of fish in our authentic English fish ‘n chips.  Dinner conversation was great, as the group has been together long enough that we have all gotten to know each other better.

This should be the end of the long bus rides.  Tomorrow, we just have a short drive where we get on another lake cruise followed by a steam train ride in the morning and a visit to Liverpool and a Beatles tour in the afternoon.  It should be great fun!