Killin to Fort Augustus 18 Sept

The appeal of Killin is its beauty. The village is located on a river where the water tumbles straight from the slopes of Ben Dubhchraig and the Craigs that look down over the valley in which the village sits. A single lane stone bridge crosses the river that is so dark brown in colour that it was almost black. The other curiosity to be found in Killin is the Clan McNab Cemetary with its stone arch and pillar entrance that is located on an island in the middle of the river. We took the morning to wonder through the village and soak in the atmosphere.
After leaving Killin we travelled across the moors of the Loch Lammond and Trossachs National Park toward the west coast of Scotland where our destination was to be Loch Ness. We drove through the most spectacular countryside that I believe I have ever seen. It was incredibly beautiful with the heather in bloom and the bracken a golden autumn brown. I find it hard to describe just how incredibly beautiful the mountains and glens in this section of the Scottish Highlands are, it was just breathtaking. Every moment presented a photo opportunity. At one stage we stopped the MH and got out to climb a small mound and realized quickly how very cold it was. The boys who had doggedly worn shorts and t-shirts since arriving in the UK were very quick to don warm coats to walk the short distance. I cannot be sure of the temperature but the wind chill factor came in to play and we were very quickly loosing body heat. Beneath our feet the ground was black peat and the sign next to our MH warned of the dangers of bogs. We didn’t stay in the open for long.
Fort William was a town that we travelled through on our way to Loch Ness and we stopped at our first McDonald’s restaurant and took advantage of the free Wi-fi to send in my assignments.
We arrived in the small town of Fort Augustus located at the south end of Loch Ness by mid afternoon having navigated the very busy and winding road from Fort William. There was enough time to take a speed boat ride on the Loch. Although expensive, it was well worth it and we enjoyed the wildness and beauty of the Loch from the water. The trip took about 1 ½ hours and we went as far as Urquart Castle before turning around to return to Fort Augustus. With great amusement we witnessed a bride and groom in themed costumes having their photos taken at the castle, with the obligatory piper playing a traditional Scottish tune from his bagpipe. Again I thought of Amy and Daniel wondering if this was their thing. In fact, this was the third wedding that we had come across with two being in Italy.
On the way back there was a very funny moment or two when Ron had extreme difficulty in doing up his wet suit so that he was snug and warm. Owen wasn’t too disappointed at missing a Nessy sighting and we did get to see an old black billy goat on the Loch shore but not a stag. After settling into our van park we wondered by foot to the local pub. Ron ordered and ate Haggas and Neeps and I had a lovely salmon. Owen chose the safe route and had a lovely beef pie. We all had a taste of the Haggas and declared it edible in small portions.