Off to Inverness Area

[BirdbyBird]

The connections here are slow but I finally got one set of photos to load up. Tomorrow I move on from this area and will probably have a stronger signal. I begin my final one night stops as I drive through some of eastern Scotland.

https://expeditionsandadventures.blogsp ... rness.html

[Cudedog]

Very much enjoyed your photos and writings on Urquhart castle. I was there around 40 years ago +/-, and have never forgotten my visit. It was one of the most amazing and beautiful places I have ever seen.

When I was there, there was no visitors center, no museum, no explanatory signs. I just got off the bus from Drumnadrochit at an unmarked spot along the side of the road, the bus driver told me this was "the place". I had to take his word for it - I couldn't see anything from the side the road where I was dropped off, but there was a narrow dirt path that led down the hill that the bus driver said I should follow. Nothing at all anywhere around - no buildings, no cars, no people - nothing but a green swale of grass gently leading downwards.

I was all alone, but trusted the now departed bus driver, so off I went.

In a little while the castle rose slowly into view out of the mist, and it fair took my breath away. I explored the castle for an hour or two - as you know, it is a fairly large space - but there were only two or three other people there, far off, looking around, as I was the entire time I was there.

My daughter and her husband visited Urquhart castle a few years back, with the museum and all.

I am glad that the castle is now being cared for as a tourist destination. . . but the way I experienced it, all those so many years ago, myself alone and the castle deserted, was pure magic.

Anne

[snowball]

totally enjoyed your trip what a neat area you are visiting... those windows are so neat!!!
so tell me what a one track is in terms that I would understand like one way ?? country road dirt road divided highway ect
sheila

[BirdbyBird]

A one track can be gravel or most of mine have been paved but they are only one vehicle wide with periodic "passing area" every so often. It takes good manners and folks wave a lot. The quality of the pull offs make a great difference. The roads that are two lane seldom have posted speeds above our 40 mph so you know that the one tracks are a scenic way to go.

[snowball]

Thanks
sheila

[JudyJB]

Here are some pictures I took of the one track lanes I spent almost a whole day driving on. Instead of thinking cars, imagine horses and carts on these very narrow lanes. I found that the ones in England were a bit scary, maybe because the drivers tended to be more aggressive. But I loved the ones in Scotland where drivers and people in general were a little more laid back. http://humongousukadventure.blogspot.co ... -lake.html As you look through these photos, you will see my driving from a freeway to a two-lane highway to these little lanes. I ended up taking a wrong turn and spent most of the day driving over 30 miles on these tiny roads that look more like driveways.

The last couple of photos on this page showed the farm that Beatrix Potter owned. After leaving her parents in her late 40s, she started buying up farms from the money she made on her Peter Rabbit books to prevent the land being developed with holiday cottages, ending up with 1,500 acres. (Her parents forbid her to get married because they wanted her around to take care of them when they were elderly, so they were very unhappy when she left home.) She later married her realtor and he also owned several farms. When they died, each donated their land to become the Lake District National Park.

Because these one-tracks were hilly, there was no speed limit, but no one drove very fast--maybe more like 25 MPH. As you can see, it would have been easy to hit a stone wall or stone building.

Being able to explore on these tiny roads is one very good reason for renting a car in the UK. I can guarantee you that tour buses NEVER take these, but what an adventure they are! (I almost ran into a wall once in Scotland on one of these roads because I was watching three cows who had their heads over the fence watching me.) I envy Tina on her current trip.