July 8: Loch Ness

After another filling breakfast, courtesy of our host, Sarah Tree, we set out to take in the area surrounding this beautiful lake.  Seeing as we were at the very site of some of the most famous tales of mystery, we had to start it off at the Loch Ness Exhibition Center to learn about the history of Loch Ness and her most famous, albeit fictional inhabitant, Nessie.

I really wanted to buy into the story, despite my overly logical and skeptical sidekick's rolling eyes.  The center offered a tour that walked us through several rooms set up to tell pieces of history surrounding Loch Ness, explaining the sightings of Nessie, the proved hoaxes and genuine (to the people who reported them) sightings of the beast.  The expo was surprisingly rooted in fact and I left it feeling a little more educated, though a little less enchanted, as well.

After that we took a drive around the borders of the 24mile lake, looking for a few sets of falls we'd read about prior.  The fog was pretty stubborn in this area, we were finding, but at least the rain wasn't constant.

Unable to find Morriston Falls, we settled for a short hike to the upper Falls of Foyers.  Along the path were pieces of a poem, guiding the way, and even in the rain it was a beautiful hike.

As the sun began to peek out we made our way back up to Inverness to explore the city.  With River Ness cutting through it, Inverness was a pretty place about which to roam for the afternoon, though we did little more than take pictures and people watch.

Inverness Castle

River Ness cutting down the center of town

At dinner time, we decided to take the plunge and try haggis for the first time.  It was in a large pub with a nice menu and we both eyed the appetizer selection we were both excited and a little scared to try.  When it arrived, our traditional haggis with tatties an neeps, we both leaned forward and inhaled the warm aroma.  If you're not already familiar with this Scottish fare, haggis is a mixture of sheep liver, heart, and lungs combined with a special list of herbs, spices, and grains, which is sealed up inside a sheep's stomach and cooked.  The result is a kind of crumbled meat, which is traditionally paired with mashed potatoes (tatties) and mashed turnips (neeps).  Sounds awful, I know, but let me tell you, it was wonderful.  The meat, itself, is actually quite fragrant with all the herbs mingling therein, and the sweetness of the turnip mash along with the smoothness of the mashed potato really rounds out this amazingly delicious event going on in your mouth.  (Seriously, I've been home over a month now from this trip and I'm dying for some haggis.)  

After dinner we milled around a while longer, then satisfied we'd seen what we cared to see here and eying the once again darkening clouds, headed back toward the B&B, though bypassing it for another drive around the lake before turning in.

Moo :)