The highlands, Scotland by Kev

18.8.2025. Today we are travelling again. Not as far this time though. A couple hours drive and we get to Nairn, a smaller place than Stirling, just outside Inverness. We can't check in just yet, so first up, shopping. We bought some supplies for the next few days. Once that was packed in front of the kids, we headed to our new stay. After a small amount of confusion, be it ours or GMaps, we found our new apartment. Down a driveway, past a house to a small looking block. We opened the door and walked in. A hallway that led past the first bedroom, the kids, with a double bunk bed. Just past that it opens up into a small yet comfortable living area and small kitchen. Past that we find our bedroom and the bathroom. There's a back door, leading to a greenhouse area out the back. Table and chairs, reclining chairs, bigger oven and fridges. The best yet, grape vines growing through the rafters with bunches of grapes hanging down. We're thinking that this will be a nice stay. We settled in and found that the owner had left a few things for us. Coffee, cokes, wine, beers and some kitkats. Dinner was made, the shower works great, now off to bed.
19.8.2025. We're off to see Fort George today, a fort that was built after the battle of Culloden, to resist any further Jacobite uprising. Fort George is the mightiest artillery fortification in Britain. Its canons orientated towards land for a Jacobite invasion. Later more canons were added, aimed towards the water fearing a French force. Neither of these came, so the fort was never tested in battle. It is still used today, with an active garrison there. I enjoyed walking around the fort, looking at how it was set up to defend itself. We visited the museum there, and the cafe, just for coffee. We walked the outside wall and saw dolphins swimming not far from the shore. Pretty sure we have seen dolphins on every continent now. Once we were done visiting Fort George, we headed back towards our next activity. We'd kept it a secret from the kids, they knew we were doing something, they just didn't know what. They were very surprised to find out Mel had booked an hour of archery for us. We met the guys running the show and got kitted out. Bows and arrows for everyone. First up, the practice area. This was to teach the very basics and make sure our gear was good. I did not know that there were different arrow lengths, Emma's were quite a bit shorter than mine. This is so, at full draw, the arrow still sits on the bow, but is also not too long. “Tuned” to the person. After the practice area, we moved on to the first target area. A place full of foam rubber animals and dinosaurs. The next, an area full of zombies and finally a place full of dragons and trolls. At the start, Emma was not so sure of themselves. The instructor with us, Alan, was fantastic with Emma, and the rest of us. It did not take long for Emma to build her confidence and really start to enjoy themselves. By the end of the hour, we were all hitting our targets. It was great to see the kids fit the arrow, draw the bow, aim, and hit the target. Then the smiles. It's something we won't forget anytime soon, and I know we'll do it again at some point. We chatted to Alan for a bit afterwards, luckily he didn't have another group. He told us about a few typically Scottish things we need to try. A certain fudge and an orange drink. We thanked him again and made our way back to the apartment. Tonight I made rice, vegetables and haggis. Both regular and vegetarian haggis. Both delicious, but I still prefer the real deal. Can't beat that offal for taste. No leftovers, unfortunately.
20.8.2025. Today we're off to Culloden, the site of the last battle between the Jacobites and the English. We walked around the field, where they marked out the positions of where the two armies had stood before the battle. There are standing stones with clan names, showing where men had died and been buried. It gave me an eerie feeling, walking amongst the stones, knowing that where I stood, hundreds of men had died in less than an hour. After our visit to the field we went into the museum. We watched an older bloke demonstrate how the Highland charge was countered by the English troops, up until then it had been devastating to the English troops. The charge involved knocking the enemies weapon away with a shield then striking with a raised sword. The English countered this, by not attacking the man in front of them, but the man next to him. When his arm is raised to attack the person beside you, he is left vulnerable under that arm. We learnt that the battle of Culloden had lasted less than an hour. With the Jacobites badly beaten and retreating hastily. It was to be the last battle between the English and the Jacobites, and the last pitch battle to be fought on British soil. Once we had seen enough of the museum, we headed into Inverness for a look around. We first visited a second-hand bookshop, called Leaky's Bookshop. A big shop that specialises in buying and selling second-hand books. We just went for a look, but with my mob I knew that wouldn't be enough. Mel wanted to live there, we settled with the kids getting a book each, and Mel taking a few pictures. After the bookshop we had a walk. We walked along the Ness River, which flows from Loch Dochfour, at the northern end of Loch Ness, and runs through Inverness. We visited a nice little chapel and then an island in the river. After all the walking we headed back towards the part of town near the bookshop. Went to a supermarket and got some cheap dinner. Mel had found a pub called Hootenanny’s, that had live Scottish music. We got there and found out it was fully booked. We weren't allowed to even stand at the bar. Against Scottish law to have kids in there without getting them food apparently. We walked to the next pub, same deal. We got to another pub, which had some room. We said we just wanted some drinks and they were ok with that. We sat down and I got some drinks. There were two blokes up on the stage, both with guitars. We sat and listened, and enjoyed our drinks. The music was very good, they played some of their own songs, before doing some covers. The singer had a tremendous voice, and the other guy was incredible on the guitar. Together, they entertained the crowd very well. In between their sessions, an older guy got up and entertained us. First break he told us some old Scottish folk tales. The next break he showed us how to fold and fit a kilt. The final break we were there for he showed us some of the weapons and clothing of the Jacobites. We had to leave, it was getting late. It was a great night, with fantastic music and a great atmosphere. We headed back and went straight to bed.
21.8.2025. Today we're headed to Urquhart Castle, which is built right beside Loch Ness. This was an interesting visit, as it's the only castle we've visited so far that is in ruin. I like castles, and ruins of castles. The castle went through a lot of changes throughout its history. I enjoyed walking around the old castle and trying to imagine how it used to be. We learnt that right beside the castle is the deepest part of Loch Ness, at 227 metres deep. There's quite a few boats out there full of tourists, and I can imagine there are more than a few phones at the bottom. We went up to the visitors centre and had a look around. We watched a short film about the castle and bought another magnet. Afterwards, we drove to a Cairn. A big circle of rocks that is a burial. They believe it is the grave of a very important woman from around 4000 years ago. Thousands of rocks stacked up with a tunnel entrance. There used to be a cap but it was removed some time ago. There are standing stones surrounding the site. We sat and ate lunch nearby, enjoying the countryside. On the way back to our stay we saw some Highland cows, the big wooly ones. We stopped at a place, they had three of them. They even posed somewhat for photos. After that, back to the stay where the kids blogged. Dinner was made, I'm happy to have a kitchen, be it a small one.
22.8.2025. Today we're going for a drive. Across the Highlands to see a train. Not just any train, the train they used in Harry Potter. We arrived to find all the car parks full. Well what now? Let's keep driving up the road a bit. A bit past the place, we found a car parked off the carriageway, that's what they call a highway here, and decided to do the same. I got as far off the road as I could, we locked the car and walked back. Mel was a bit worried we weren't going to get there in time, so we pushed hard on the hike. I love the surroundings in Scotland, and this place is no less gorgeous than what we've seen elsewhere. We came around a corner and there was what we were looking for. The Glenfinnan Viaduct. Quite a few people, sitting around waiting for a train too. I wasn't too happy with the first spot we came to, so I pushed on. Emma came with me. I got to another spot, and there were more people here. I found what I thought was a good spot, up a bit higher, with a bush in front of me so no one can stand in front of me. I took a picture and sent it to Mel. Bloody internet not working here. I'll call Mel, see if that gets through. Nope, that didn't work. I was complaining about the lousy internet to Emma, when she calmly asked if my data was on. With my data now on, my picture went through to Mel and I called. Mel and Andrew both came over and agreed, this new spot was better. We waited about 15mins, then we heard it. The train came around the hill opposite us and onto the viaduct. It stopped halfway, for dramatic effect I think, then blew its whistle and chugged up the hill, to pass in front of us. It was pretty fun to watch, but they must have taken a lot of shots for the movie as the viaduct is not that long and there is an entire scene. After that we headed back to the car. Andrew and I ran a lot of the way. We got back way before the other two. So we pee’d in the bushes. As soon as we'd finished the train, which had been stopped at the station, came past us. We waited a bit more, and noticed some wild blackberries. After checking to make sure they weren't wet, we tried a couple. Andrew said his was sweet and juicy, mine was a bit on the tangy side. From being a little under ripe, I assure you. After the train we had another hike to do. This one led to a waterfall. The kids loved the hiking today, we noticed Emma seemed a lot more comfortable with her body, and even led the way for a while. We had to take our shoes off and walk through some shallow water at one point, bloody cold. We did some rock hopping at the bottom of the falls, then headed back. The kids had played a bit in a drier section of the river on the way in, and had started to build a dam. On the way back out they built some more. If we had more time, we would have let them do it for hours. As it was, we had a two hour drive back, and it was already getting late. We had a nice drive back, before doing the nighttime routine.
23.8.2025. Today we're off to another Highland games! This one is the Glen Urquhart games, held near Drumnadrochit, not far from Inverness. We watched the piping event, young bagpipers doing their best. We then made our way to the main grounds to watch the heavyweights compete. This year is different, as it is the first time there is a heavyweight women's competition. Both the men's and women's competitions were great. Everyone got into it, cheering all of them on, and we all enjoyed the spectacle. The women's comp was won by a 16 year old, who has a huge future in front of them. In between all that, there were running events, high and long jump. The kids got treated to strawberries and cream, and we all had a really good day. We drove back, had a relaxing afternoon, knowing that tomorrow we head for our next destination.
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