Tassie Rachel: Loch Ness to Oban, Mull and Iona Islands

Sunday began with sitting in the sun as I watched boats go through the five locks at Loch Ness.

Then an interesting cruise on Loch Ness, which I discovered is not only incredibly deep and full of brown water but the two sides represent two continents and as such have very different landscapes.

The locals say this is where Nessie slid into the loch...

Some clever stickers on the cruise boat windows 😉.

Then we did a lovely afternoon drive around the area.

The WW2 commando memorial near Spean Bridge.

A very pretty dam wall.

Loving all the Highland cows, or Hairry Coos as the locals say.

Monday morning it was raining much more than the forecast said, so that meant skipping the Ben Nevis gondola and heading straight to Fort William. There we visited the West Highlands Museum, which had one room dedicated to the Jacobites.

Tartan Trews whose original owner is highly debated.

These knitted socks looked brand new but were knitted in the late 1800s. For my knitting friends, they were knitted today with a seam, which surprised me.

We arrived at the Glenfinnan visitor centre to find it and the next four parking areas all full. It turned out that was because the Jacobite stream train, ie the Harry Potter train was about to come by. Somehow we managed to find a great spot to view it. The carpark was still full when we went back so we didn't get to see the aquaduct or memorial. Despite school going back a couple of weeks ago there are still so many tourists around.

Listening to one of many Neil Oliver podcasts about the history of Scotland we headed to Glencoe. The story of the massacre there is very sad but there is a lovely history centre and a beautiful valley now controlled by the National Trust.

Then to Oban for the best fish and chips I've ever had. I can certainly see why it's the seafood capital of the UK.

Very early Tuesday morning we took a 50 minute ferry to the island of Mull. As it was raining we decided to drive around Mull to check it out and wait until the rain cleared. Mull was a more diverse landscape than other islands we've been to and also had quite a few tree plantations.

Tobermory is the largest town on the island.

At noon we headed to the iconic island of Iona, on a quick ten minute passenger only ferry. Vehicles are only allowed if you have a special permit as a resident.

The Abbey was rebuilt from 1973 onwards, it's now a National Trust site but also still ran as a retreat location.