6th Day - Saturday - Loch Ness
Today I am going to see Nessie - and the sun has come out in Edinburgh today. After I restock my supply of food for me and petrol for my wee car I drove towards the bridge and crossed it - stop breathing, keep the steering wheel straight and do not look to the left or right - managed! And further towards Perth. Here, like before, on the A9. But this time I stayed on the A9 and drove towards Inverness. Obviously I was ot the only one who wanted to go north. The first kilometers the road was crowded and I made only slow progress. But bit by bit the cars disappeared. Finally the traffic got clear. In Scotland the road are classified in categories, M stands for Motorway, of course. A is equal to the "Bundesstraße" in Germany, so the A9 leads to Inverness and the A82 via Glasgow - Fort Williams - Loch Ness (north-west shore) also to Inverness. Just before Inverness I turned into the B851. The B-category is not quite equal to the German country roads (exceptions prove the rule). Those roads often have only one lane, only partly two cars can pass each other, elsewhere there are passing bays. What worked without difficulties. I followed the road for half an hour then I reach the Loch Ness South-East-Shore. And the countryside had change dramatically. While I first drove through the well-known, more bald Highlands I suddenly found myself in an enchanted forest. Properly fairies and other fairy being were at home here.
Then I had reached the parking area from where my walk should start. Simply beautiful here - there was a house with information about the walks which are starting here and there also was a toilette. That is something you have to look for hard in Germany, in the middle of nowhere at a parking area a clean place for your personal needs - no Dixi. After I took a flyer with directions percautionally, I started the walk. After a short but steep climb I reach a sign to the "Loch Ness Viewpoint". Even though the path was still climbing I followed the sign. And after a short climb I reached the viewpoint - excellent view, I got just the right day. The air was clear, the sky sunny with some clouds passing by and the temperature just right for walking. On the top at the view point was a bench which I mounted to take a photo. The trees had grown quite high and block the sight to the loch. After a climb-down over a sometimes hardly visible path I was back at the main track. The main track went plain and had only a few climbs. Finally I left the comfortable track in the forest and followed the marks on a small path. Very soon I found myself in a kind of hill moor with heather. Here I had a fantastic view to the mountains I had cross on my way up. When the heather turned into forest again the path began to climb again, very steep in a kind of stairway. Always when I thought I had reach the top there was another climb. Puffing like a steam engine I finally reach the summit. I was rewarded with an incredible view over the lake. All the struggle was forgotten. Now the track went only downhill - to Foyers - my knees did not like it at all but there was no way around it. When I check the route later I learned that I had overcome an altitude difference from 300 m (900 feet). When I came to Foyers I wanted to go down to the shore of the Loch. Bur when I realized that the Loch was still 100 m below the point I was now I abandoned that. I did not want to climb an extra 100 m. So I started the way back. Not the track I came rather another route with sight to the Loch which went through a birch forest. Heaven, it was so beautiful here. But the track was tiring. Now I understood why the track was qualified as "muscle stretching" - it meant uphill, downhill or simply on the right higher than on the left. Finally the path reach an asphalted road close to a current transformer house. Looks like the people from the electric company do not want to drive over bad roads. Then I had to make a decision, further over the small path or rather on the road. I took the road and had another nice view over Loch Ness. Nevertheless I walk on the right site of the road so the cars came towards me. Here only tourists drive slowly and there were none on this site of the Loch. After a bit more than 3 hours I reach my start point after a short easy climb where my car was waiting for me well-behaved. On my way back I watched the fuel gauge like a hawk. During my last holiday in Scotland I stranded in the middle of nowhere because of the lack of petrol, I did not wanted that to happen again. So I refueled in Perth - later I notice that that was not really necessary. The petrol in the tank still would have been enough to take me back to Edinburgh. But just make sure! Today I was back in Edinburgh late too and somehow my hip and my shoulder made itself felt. They still hurt and to lie on the right site was impossible. I had a big bruise on the right hip. Well, now quickly a shower and then to bed and sleep.
Bilder Loch Ness:
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