The beauty of Loch Ness in the Scottish highlands

When you hear of lakes in Scotland, they are referred to as 'Loch XYZ', such as Loch Ness or Loch Lomond. Why Loch ? Well, in the Scottish and Irish language, Loch is the word for lake, and apparently since it is not a big or fancy word, and something that is easy to pronounce, it is used widely. So, when you look at maps or local signs, they will refer to these lakes as Loch, and if you speak to people in the area, they are proud of these magnificent bodies of water and prefer to refer to them as Loch rather than as a lake.

Mist and cloud in the morning over Loch Ness in Scotland (More photos / Prints)

There are many such Lochs in the Scottish Highlands, and are important to the local economy. These water bodies are the anchor on which the tourism economy of the Scottish Highlands depends upon, and the number of tourists that come to this area for the beauty, the sceneries, the excellent weather, is very important for the economy of Scotland as a whole.

A Merganser drake in the water of the Loch Ness (More photos / Prints)

These Lochs, atleast the most famous ones, are all sided to one side of a hill or mountain; these Lochs are not very broad (some can be less than a kilometer wide at some points), but can be very long. One of the most famous is Loch Ness. The reason it is so famous is because of the name, with sightings over the years of an apparent pre-historic monster called the Loch Ness monster or Nessie (the more affectionate name). This monster (of which presence there is no conclusive proof) apparently lives in Loch Ness, a Loch that is pretty large (it is not immediately much longer or wider than other lakes), but is pretty deep and as a result, the volume of water contained in Loch Ness is one of the largest in the whole of UK.

Man kayaking on the water of the Loch Ness (More Photos / Buy a print)

The surroundings of Loch Ness are very beautiful, with greenery, hills and some heritage monuments (the most prominent being the ruins of Urquhart Castle). There are many boating cruises on the Loch, and one can even take a kayak or similar boat onto the water and enjoy (there is of course no guarantee of what would happen if you come across the monster - if you survive and managed to take photos, you would get incredibly reach).

Man sitting on steps reading paper on shore of Loch Ness (More photos / Buy print)

Because of the greenery around the Loch, the water of the Loch is very murky, which means that various expeditions in the past to try and determine the presence of the Loch Ness monster have come to naught. 

Lovely eating options in The Highlands Club in Fort Augustus

What a place to have food. You are in the mood of some nice food and drinks, and a good environment along with friends would be great. What could be better than the surroundings of Loch Ness, one of the largest lakes in Scotland (it may not be the largest in terms of surface area, but due to it being the lake that has the maximum average depth, it has the maximum volume of water); of course, if 'Nessie', the reputed Loch Ness monster emerges from the lake, then probably its dinner would be us. A simple wooden table and chairs on a small strip of land that seems to project into the lake, at evening, what could be better. Enjoy the beer ! This is the Boathouse restaurant, located right on the shore of the lake, and almost at the point where the Caledonian Canal meets the Loch Ness.

Table and chairs at the shore of Loch Ness in Fort Augusts (More photos and prints)

This is a more descriptive photo of the tables and chairs at the Boathouse Restaurant in Fort Augustus. In addition to the places to eat, the facility for boating on the Loch is also visible, with the Boathouse. In the Boathouse, there are boats and rubber dinghies that are available to use, and can be launched from here.

Tables, Chairs and the Boathouse at the restaurant in the Highland Club (More photos and prints)

Another view of the chairs and umbrella covered tables at the Boathouse Restaurant in the Highland Club in Fort Augustus, with the projection of land on which these tables are placed being visible in this image. This is a lovely place to sit, with the water of the lake being on both sides of the projection, and the boathouse for launching boats, dinghies and kayaks into the lake.

Chairs and tables at the Boathouse Restaurant in For Augustus (More photos and prints)

A Benedictine Abbey in Fort Augustus in the Scottish Highlands

If you were to go to the quaint Fort Augustus in the Scottish Highlands on the shore of Loch Ness, you would come across this beautiful building, a Benedictine Abbey. Imagine being able to live in this place, and yes, you can. This is a former Benedictine Abbey, which was an Abbey for more than a century but was finally shut down for lack of funds. The project for building such an Abbey was started in 1874, but it took some time for collecting the necessary funds, and the Abbey was finally completed in 1880. In 1882, it was removed from English control and was made independent, reporting directly to the Pope. The school here for older boys was the chief source of funds for the Abbey, but modernity brought problems. In 1993, due to modern standards, the school had to be shut down, and the immediate impact of lack of funds started to be felt. Over a period of time, the Abbey tried multiple ways to generate funds, but was never successful to generate the require funds. Finally, after some ventures, the abbey was sold and converted into The Highland Club, self-catering apartments. And these are truly lovely.

Repair work on one wing of the Abbey (More images and Prints)

View of one of the sections of the Abbey, and one of the entrances. The place looks incredible, with all the traditional architecture in place. Look at these windows, the exterior finish, and you might be taken back to the architecture shown in period shows and movies. It was a pleasure staying at this place.

Front view of one section of the Benedictine Abbey in Fort Augustus (Prints and more photos)

A more expanded view of this section of the former Benedictine Abbey in Fort Augustus. At the extreme bottom right, one can see a lady who is one of the guests here. The expanse of windows to the left of the photos actually shows a corridor in the place.

Expanded view of front section of Benedictine Abbey in Fort Augustus (More photos and prints here)

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)