Interlochy Castle Hotel, our comfy home for a couple days

Fort William is a town on Loch Linnhe near the foot of Ben Nevis, which is the tallest peak in all of the British Isles. Given the proximity to Ben Nevis and a variety of other beautiful lakes, First William is considered a major destination for outdoor enthusiasts from all over the UK.

To be honest we did not come for those reasons. Our destination here was really Inverlochy Castle Hotel, a Victorian era baronial mansion turned hotel, where residents can lead a genteel life for a night or two. And it’s just as well that we weren’t hellbent on views of Ben Nevis, since the fog and clouds kept it pretty well hidden for the duration of our two-night stay.

This grand home was built in 1863 by William Scarlett, 3rd Baron Abinger, just a few miles from the original Inverlochy Castle, a 13th century castle that now lies in ruins. Ten years later, Queen Victoria spent a week here, declaring, “I never saw a lovelier or more romantic spot.” In 1944 the place was purchased by the Canadian entrepreneur who had founded the nearby Ben Nevis distillery. His son inherited the mansion and turned it into a hotel in 1969.

We did a bit of hiking here but mostly savored the special thrill of staying in a glorious estate and enjoying its beautiful drawing rooms and dining rooms. It was a very pleasant way to break up a fairly long journey from Skye to Glasgow.

The hiking trails led to places where one might have seen the peak of Ben Nevis but for the clouds

Super tall woods on parts of the path

The main lounge at the castle, a nice please to have tea and read

Jim enjoys feeling like lord of the manor for a bit

Hiking through the woods

Watching the sheep from our room

Lovely moody weather keeps the mountain peak a mystery

Jim checks out the menu for our fancy dinner at the castle

We don’t do dessert much, but here at the castle it’s pretty nice

A big pile of mussels and lobster at a more casual lunch place in town

Part of the castle glows in the very late sunset here

Animal pic!

Hiking above Loch Ness with Sven and Mary Beth

Our tour of Great Britain reaches its most northerly point here in Inverness, which is generally considered the capital of the Scottish Highlands. The name derives from the Scottish Gaelic words for “Mouth of the River Ness.” The city indeed sits at he mouth of the River Ness, six miles downstream from the beautiful, mysterious, moody Loch Ness.

We drove a little under three hours to get here from Braemire. That experience combines stunningly beautiful scenery with mildly terrifying road conditions. Many of the roads in Scotland are just BARELY wider than two cars. Every time we encounter an oncoming vehicle, it seems there are only inches to spare for each car to stay in its lane and avoid collision. And when that oncoming vehicle happens to be a bus or a truck or a tractor, there is even less room to spare because it may well spill into our lane. That means Jim (who has been driving) has to move uncomfortably to the left while Mark (the navigator) winces in fear that we are going to head into a ditch or hit whatever is on the side. So every drive combines great natural beauty with a lot of stress.

And of course there are significant stretches where the roads are not NEARLY the width of two cars. There you rely on frequent little “passing places” and pray that when you encounter another car you don’t have to back up too far to get to one. And on top of all this you have to add in the minor extra challenge of remembering to always stay on the left.

The best part about our stay here was joining up for two days with our great friends Mary Beth and Sven. We had lots of time to catch up over lunches, dinners, a bit of Scotch tasting, and a couple nice hikes along the River Ness and up above Loch Ness. Given how unpredictable the weather is here, we had nice clear conditions and lovely views of the lake. We were only disappointed not to get even one sighting of the Loch Ness monster herself.

The scenery helps make up for the treacherous driving conditions

A stroll though town after lunch

The view toward Inverness on our hike along the river

We managed to get some pretty ideal weather for our hike above the Loch

Happy hikers

Jim meets a dog

A bit of Scotch tasting. They tried to borrow from the wine industry, telling us the various flavors we could taste in each brew: orange peel, vanilla, stewed pears, etc. I really didn’t taste those things at all.

Another little turn in the weather conditions

A fantastic dinner in town. I ordered a dish that included haggis, and everybody dutifully tried it. If you read a description of what haggis is, it sounds truly revolting. But I’ve sampled it a few times now, and I’m making my peace with it.

The morning we drove out of town some pretty different weather hovered over Loch Ness

Reading and having tea at our guest house. Oh, wait a sec, that must be the time I was here with my parents 33 years ago!