Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands

The Scottish and Gaelic term for a lake or sea inlet is 'Loch' (read more about Loch on Wikipedia). And for a traveler to the Scottish Highlands, it would seem that the entire region of the Scottish Highlands have a number of such water bodies, and also help in drawing a number of tourists to the region. One of the largest such bodies in the region is Loch Ness, a massive water body that is very deep and hence contains a huge amount of water (Loch Ness on Wikipedia); containing more water than any other such Loch in the British Isles with the deepest point being 230 meters deep. Loch Ness of course is more famous for the apparent (or alleged) presence of Nessie, the Loch Ness monster. Sightings have been there for millennia, with the first presence of the monster in the River Ness during the 6th century when Saint Columba ordered the monster to not attack his companion at which the monster drew back. Over the years, especially in the last century, sightings have increased, but no proof has been found even after many attempts to solve the mystery of the monster.

The entrance to the Loch Ness caravan park right next to the Loch (More photos / Print of this photo)

Loch Ness is very beautiful, set amidst some great greenery and with green covered hills on the side. For people wanting to see this beautiful environment and the surroundings, and who are using caravans, this caravan park is a great idea. Set just next to the loch, the image shows the entrance to the Loch along with the greenery.

Trees on the shore of Loch Ness in Fort Augustus (More photos / Print this photo)

A spectacular setting on the shore Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. This is a small settlement, called Fort Augustus, located on the south west end of the Loch. The place is small, with less than a 1000 people and is heavily dependent on tourism. With settings such as the above, a small section of the shore of the Loch, looking extraordinarily beautiful, no wonder you have a lot of visitors to the Loch and its surroundings.

Man kayaking on the water of the Loch Ness (More photos / Print this photo)

Enjoying on the waters of the Loch Ness, in the morning. I wanted to enjoy a view of the Loch in the morning, when there is a slight mist, and there are almost no tourists around. Apparently, this person had a better idea, going kayaking on the water of the Loch in the morning. Obviously, no fear of the Loch Ness monster.

Beauty of a number of Lochs in the Scottish Highlands

The Scottish Highlands is an incredibly beautiful place, with immense natural beauty. There are long narrow Lochs, some connected to the sea and most others being fresh water ones, there is one deep one that is supposed to contain a prehistoric monster, there are regions which are very rugged, there are some hills and mountains (not very tall though), and some places that seem very untouched. But most of all, for a first time visitor, it is the bodies of water, the Lochs, which present a lot of beauty. In a number of places, these long narrow bodies of water stretch for long distances with a road running right next to them. You can reach them, park the vehicle next to them, get out and just enjoy the beauty of these lakes of pristine water - and there will be many places where you would not see anybody else around.
In a number of these lakes, one does not even know the name of the Loch next to which you are passing by. Just the road next to the lake, with a parking area and you can just stop there, send some time in perfect peace and then get onto doing what you were doing before you stopped. So, for example, on this road, there is a Loch right to the left of the road, and there is a place where it is perfectly fine to park and get out and enjoy a view of the lake.

Small stopping section on the side of the road next to a lake (More photos / Print of this photo)

This is a view of one of these Lochs. We were traveling from Edinburgh towards Loch Ness and came across the first of these Lochs on the side of the road. Soon, we reached a spot where one could easily pull over to the side of the Loch, and even though the side of the road was located much higher than the surface of the Loch, the view from between the trees was beautiful and showed the expanse of the Loch at this point (the Loch is located on the side of a hill, and hence tends to be not very wide, but can be very long, going along the length of the hill).

Broad expanse of a Loch in the Scottish Highlands (More photos / Print of photo)

Another view of a different Loch. Again, this was accessible from the side of the road and we were again at a higher position than the surface of the Loch. Further, in this part of this Loch, it seems like there is some sort of power generating equipment on the shore of the Loch (either using the waves directly, or which uses the water for cooling purposes and for generating the steam that drives its turbines).

View of shore and shimmering waters of a lake in the Scottish Highlands (More photos / Print of this photo)

Another view of the same Loch as above, but from a point that was much further ahead. The gap between the road surface and the surface of the Loch had slightly decreased, but it was still a tricky descent to the water level and we decided not to do it. The trees at this point were slightly thicker, and it was more difficult to get a clear view of the water surface and the horizon, but by moving around a bit, it was possible to get some sort of view.

View of a Loch in the Scottish Highlands, visible through tree branches, with hills in the background (More photos / Print of photo)

Beauty of a Loch (one among many) in the Scottish Highlands

The terrain of the Scottish Highlands is wonderful when you are driving on the highway that runs through different sections of it. The presence of Lochs, of hills, of taller sections of hills that have rock (but not much of ice) and abundant greenery makes for an interesting drive through the region. When driving in the region, suddenly you will come across a Loch where there is no real mark of civilization;  where you can see the natural beauty of the area. Our journey started by driving out from Edinburgh, and within a few hours, we came across the first Loch. The road had a side parking area, atleast one where you could stop, there was little traffic on the highway, and just trees everywhere with the water of the Loch visible through the trees (or one could go through the trees and get closer to the water). As we moved along, came across different types of lakes, some bigger than the others, some which had a shore where one could go easily to the Loch, and others which were located at a lower level than the road and it was not possible to go down.

Irregular shoreline of a Loch in the Scottish Highlands (More photos | Get prints)

Just like the above photo, there are more photos that show the beauty of the Scottish Highlands. For example, the next photos shows an expanse of a nameless Loch that is much wider and apparently the water would be much deeper. In this place, there was no way to get to the shore, since the water level was much below the road, almost like a cliff kind of feel. The Loch looked beautiful, and almost unspoiled (if you ignore the fact that there is a highway through which we got there).

Rugged outdoors and waters of a Loch in the Scottish Highlands (More photos / Prints)

Photos of a Loch in the Scottish Highlands along with an island

Scotland is famous for its Lochs, the lakes that are present all over the area of the Scottish Highlands. If you are wondering why a lake is called a Loch, it is the Scottish (and Irish) name for a Loch. These water bodies are pretty famous for the beauty they impart to the region, and for attracting visitors to the Scottish Highlands. A large number of these lakes are right next to hills, and are long and narrow. Some of them can be pretty deep, with depths of upto 200 meter or more. One of the most famous such Loch is Loch Ness, which has been supposed to have a large monster in it, affectionately known as Nessie. In the photos below, this is a depiction of a small section of a Loch which is less well settled, with no traces of civilization being shown next to the Loch. The scene is as nature would have liked to be, with no buildings on the lake, no people boating or sailing on the lake, and with the shore of the loch forming an irregular pattern. There was a highway right next to the Loch, and one could quickly reach this spot, and admire the beauty of the location. We spent close to an hour here, just watching the movement of the water, the slightly cold temperature, and almost had to force each other to leave.

Irregular shore line of a Loch in the Scottish Highlands (More photos / Prints of this photo)

This kind of shoreline looks so beautiful. The Loch is pretty narrow over here, and there is this small and narrow strip of land that projects into the Loch. Standing on this narrow strip of land, there would be a great view of the Loch all around you.

Island on the other side of the narrow section of the Loch (More photos)

A small island on the other side of a narrow section of the Loch. The whole place looked totally natural, no presence of civilization and people nearby (although I am sure there might be houses or other facilities somewhere close by). This Loch was pretty long, since it went on for long stretches on both sides, but the width of the Loch was very narrow at this point.

Zoomed view of the island seen in the previous photo (More photos)

A view with more zoom of the island seen in the previous photo. The island has a rocky shore, and does look totally uninhabited, adding to the charm of the location. 

Scenery of the Lochs in the Scottish Highlands - very beautiful

A lake in Scotland along with the greenery and hills on the shore (More photos at this link)

Scotland is famous the world over for its beauty, and attracts a huge number of visitors every year who come here to admire the place and travel. Particularly, they come to see the Scottish Highlands, and while places like Edinburgh are beautiful, it is the Scottish Highlands that attract those visitors who come here to see the beauty of the place; they come to see the lochs (the Scottish and Irish word for lakes), they come to see the hills and mountains, the rugged outdoors and the fabulous view of nature everywhere. If you can make it, you should come here to see this place.

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Loch Duich and the surroundings in the Scottish Highlands (View more photos here)

The Lochs in the Scottish Highlands tend to be narrow but long. So when you are next to a lake, you can see that the loch extends far beyond the horizon to the left and right, but you can easily see the opposite end of the Loch (different from the traditional round nature of a lake). However, this is a photo of the shore of the Loch right next to the beautiful Eilean Donan Castle. This is a typical view of a Loch, with the water and with green covered mountains right next to it.

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A small island in the water of a lake in the Scottish Highlands (Get more such photos here)

Scotland is teeming with Lochs, big and small. Some of them are huge, with the most famous one, Loch Ness being as much as 230 meter deep. Others are smaller, and some of them are fresh water Lochs while are sea water Lochs. The interesting point about these Lochs is that they are narrow (even Loch Ness, which is 36 km long, is only 2.3 km wide at its widest point). In this case, this is a very small strip of rock emerging from the surface of this Loch, located very close to the Skye Bridge. The only use for this small strip of land seems to to allow birds to land, although a small swell would be enough to cover this patch of land.

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Cars and others on the road in scenic conditions - in Scotland

Cars crossing a stone bridge over the River Teith, near the town of Stirling in Scotland (More photos at this link)

An old style bridge located near the town of Stirling in Scotland. The bridge, made of stone, is over the river Teith, and looks very beautiful. It was worth it just to be close to the bridge and take a photo of cars crossing the bridge - although it does seem odd, a combination of old times and modern vehicles. The area all around is very green, with trees, grass and flowers all around. Also, there is the sign for the Deanston distillery which is close by; Scotland is famous for its distilleries and for being the birthplace for Scotch.

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Car on a road in Scotland, with cycles mounted on the top (More photos at this link)

Cycling is a popular pastime for a number of people. It is a healthy form of exercise, allows you to travel with a group of friends in scenic surroundings. People in the cities love cycling where they can, but the problem is that cycling is best done in locations that are outside the cities. So, the best solution is, when traveling somewhere, take your cycles along with you. It is fairly easy to install this equipment on top of the vehicle to be taken safely wherever you are going. This is located in a scenic highway in Scotland.

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Cyclists on a road in the Scottish Highlands with a lake next to them (For more photos, click on this link)

I love this photo. It takes a small highway heading from Edinburgh towards the region of Lochs, hills, towards the Scottish Highlands and takes some cycling enthusiasts as they are cycling on the side of the road. The rest of the road is deserted, but the section of road that is on view is also small, since there is a curve right ahead, with the road curving to meet the contours of the Loch. The hills to the right of the Loch provide the basic definition of what tourists view Scotland - lakes and hills.

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