Day 19 – Road to Fort Augustus

Today mark a turning point in my travel, I am no longer heading  North but South and West, tonight I will be sleeping in the town of Fort Augustus, nestled at the end of Loch Ness, but today’s journey will be via a big detour west to the Isle of Skye.

It is not long out of Inverness that I am at the start of Loch Ness, the still flat water rolls on in a wide band as far as I can see, boats are taking tourists on pleasure cruises and there is no sign of Nessy yet. All of the little towns along the Loch are all in Nessy mode encouraging the tourists to stop with all sorts of gimmicky things.

Towards the end of the loch is my road west and it is not long before the tree lined roads give way to wind swept mountains that loom menacingly over me as I drive down the small winding road. The weather is very changeable as the clouds roll in over the mountains and steams and waterfalls run thick and fast down the mountain sides and along the valley floor.  

Eilean Donan greets me as I round a bend, the car park is full of tourists all wanting to have a look at the castle, it is said that this is the most photographed castle in Scotland. It is 1.30pm when I arrive so after I have taken my photos I venture into the cafe for a baked potato and a coffee.

It is only another 30 minutes to get to the bridge that crosses to the Isle of Skye, it is a very steep bridge and the view from the top is amazing as you can see out over the islands that line the inner sound passage.