After driving through the Highlands, we finally came to our final destination : the Loch Ness ! Loch Ness is the second largest lake of Scotland, after Loch Lomond, and is very famous for its monster, Nessie :-)
I was expecting a lot of this day trip, because Loch Ness has been on my to-do-list for a very long time. Since I’m a child, I’ve always wanted to go there, mainly because of all this mystery surrounding this lake… it was kind of fascinating.
Too much expectation, bad weather or poor choice for the bus tour operator ? I don’t know… but what I can say is that at the end of the day, I was left a bit disappointed…
Since we didn’t buy extra trips to the Urquhart Castle or to do the cruise on the lake, our tour guide just dropped us on a parking lot. From there, we could only get access to the café, the souvenirs shop, the toilets.. and to the boat pier. We waited for 2 hours for the other who pay extra to come back. We managed to walk for 15 minutes along the shore under the rain, but I suspect it wasn’t an official trail. The guide didn’t bother taking us to the visitor centre that explains the natural history and the legend of Loch Ness and it was too dangerous for us to walk there. We would have loved to learn more about what has been done to sound the lake and stuff like that… oh well, nothing is never perfect I suppose.
Our next visit to Stirling Castle and Loch Lomond made it up and we had good weather that day !
Darwin on the rocks and around the world 
I am also looking forward to seeing Ness，although this is only a legend.
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It’s nice to believe in legend sometimes :-)
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Sorry to read your tour was disappointing. Did you get a chance to go to the Loch Ness Museum? We included Urquhart Castle and the riverboat tour and really enjoyed both. Even if it snowed on us during the river boat ride. Our guide was so energetic.Makes all the difference. I’ve not been to Stirling Castle so I’m really looking forward to your upcoming post on it once you’ve been.
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No we didn’t. We only walked along the shore on an unofficial trail and drank a latte in the little café near the parking lot. Unfortunately, paying for Urquhart Castle was a bit out of our budget, but I’m sure it would have been a better option.
Yes, a good guide makes the difference !
I’ll try to post about the castle tonight :-)
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Many Thanks for the like at naturestimeline, each one is much appreciated.
Best Wishes
Tony
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You are very welcome, I wish you the best with your blog. What’s nice with people interrested in natural history is that you always learn new stuff ! Keep up the good work !
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You must certainly never stop learning, that’s for sure. Many Thanks for the follow.
Best Wishes
Tony
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I’ve never been there, but just like you, I’ve always liked the mystery of the Loch Ness and its monster since I was a kid.
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Even if it has been proven it was a photography trick, I still find it fascinating ;-)
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Oh, that’s a pity that you had a guide who is not passionate about his job :(
In spite of it, I am glad you could keep a positive mindset and of course make some nice photos ;)
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Yes, despite that, we still had a good time ! :-)
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So sad that you were not able to learn more about Nessie. I agree with Jim’s opinion about Nessie and the tour guide. :D
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Oh well, there is always the wikipedia option :D
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You’ve done a great job documenting your Scotland trip…so much so that now I am jealous!
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Thank you ! :-) I like to document my trips so I can have a nice memory of them. I’m glad you like them. There is more to come soon !
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I love your photos. Loch Ness is something special as well.
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Thank you !! I hope you will enjoy our next stop as well… Stirling castle ! ;-)
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Latte!! With skimmed milk please! Otherwise there may be disastrous consequences!
et sans sucre!
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haha :D
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Love your header pic.
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It’s the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, during winter time ! It was marvellous !
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:)
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That was kind of rude of that tour company :/
But the photography is gorgeous as always :)
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Thank you ! It’s a lottery when you pick up a tour, it depends probably of the guide, his mood and a lot of other factors ;-)
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I know! I’ve had many different experiences here, but I imagine when traveling it’s even trickier because references are probably more on the web side. Still, you manage to get the place to look beautiful.
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Yeah, we had a nice day all in all and sometimes, a bad memory turns into a great story to tell ;-)
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So sorry to read about the way you were treated by your Tour Leader. I had a similar experience and will most likely write about his transgressions in my blog. In any case, your photos are lovely although it would have been better if Nessie had made an appearance! :)
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I’m sorry to hear that you had a bad experience as well !
I think travelling is not always perfect, it’s part of the game. But it gets annoying when you pay for a service and when you don’t get what you’ve paid for…
At the end, we still have good memories, even if it’s not the ones we were expecting… I know that it could have been better, but I also know that we couldn’t have seen it at all… ;-) I’m trying to get positive about that.
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Absolutely!
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Sounds like Nessie should make an appearance and eat that awful tour guide for dinner. Or at least scare his pants off. Of course she would be more famous yet much less mysterious after that… :) Nice pics, though. Thanks.
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haha, nice suggestion ! :D
It is always kind of sad when someone is not passionate by his job anymore. I really had that feeling, that he didn’t want to do this tour and that it was more of an obligation for him than anything else
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