Continuing the series of things to do at Loch Ness the next 11 things are deliberately vague in parts, it makes it more interesting for you to look for answers. When you do visit Loch Ness you will at least have some items on your list of questions for the locals who are always happy to tell of local legends, and places of interest in the area. I note a lot of press reports this week of a sighting of Nessie on Google Earth, maybe certain locals can verify this!!

11)  Walk the Great Glen Way, all the way from Fort William to Inverness

12)  Go fishing on the River Farrar with Culligan Fishing

13)  Find the ‘Preacher’s Footprints’ in Glenmoriston.
In 1827 a travelling preacher, Finlay Munro, was heckled by two young men, who called him a cheat and a liar. He replied that the ground on which he stood would bear witness to the truth of his words until the final Day of Judgement. Two parallel marks in the ground are said to be his footprints wherein no grass grows.

14)  Sunbathe on Dores beach the only real beach on Loch Ness and a good place to launch boat or have a swim.

15) Take a walk through Inverfarigaig Woods – print a walk from Loch Ness map

16)  Look for red deer in winter at Loch Tarff or any time of year on the loch Killin road. You can find Killin on the dynamic map of South Loch Ness where it shows a bike trail and a scenic walk

17)  Explore the long distance ‘Trail of the Seven Lochs’ on horseback, on foot there are some nice stretches you can walk. coming soon, a dedicated map for riders and walkers.

18)  Go for a paddle in Loch Ness anywhere but especially good access to the shore from the south side along the B852

19)  Camp out at ‘Rockness’ - Annual festival held in June on the shore of Loch Ness quickly becoming one of the top gigs in Scotland’s

20)  Relax with a game of golf at Fairways 

I came across this piece in a local paper and it made me grin…

 Take a look in the mirror

MANY local guest house owners take the well-being of their guests seriously even when they are out and about.

One such lady is happy to discuss travel plans and give tips and advice on what to do and where to go to her many regular visitors. Even when her guests are independent and make their holiday arrangements without the benefit of her advice, she is solicitous on their return.

The remarks of one group who obviously do not subscribe to the philosophy of the poet Burns when he suggested that we try “to see oursels as ithers see us” has shaken her faith in some tourists’ grasp of reality.

The sheer crust of these people has left her speechless which in her case, it has to be said, is quite some feat.

When her guests returned from a day out she enquired, “What did you do today?”

They replied: “We went to Fort Augustus and Drumnadrochit.”

She responded: “That’s nice. Did you enjoy it?”

Their killer reply was: “Not really. They were full of tourists.”

Click HERE for source

As a local I am often asked by people contemplating a visit, “what is there to do at Loch Ness” so I end up reeling off all the things that come to mind at that time.

I thought it would be a good idea to write them all down quickly with the briefest of explanations for each just to give you ideas for your visit. I got to a hundred without even thinking much so no doubt more will come to mind in due course, but for now I have made my list.

Wherever you stay around Loch Ness your host will be able to fill you in with more details of the places that intrigue or interest you. To help you locate some of the places in my list have a look at the dynamic map here http://www.visitlochness.com/mapping/index.php

I will be posting 10 ideas each week for the next 10 weeks so please check back frequently and build up your list of things to see at when you come to Loch Ness. By the way, these are in no particular order, they are writtes just as they came to mind!

1) See the optical illusion on the Falls of Foyers. - Look at the waterfall, look at the rocks is the water falling or are the rocks climbing!

2) Feel the breeze and admire the views from Suidhe Viewpoint the highest point on road down the south side of the loch.  There is an interpretation board and a breathtaking walk to take you even higher.

3) Take a walk along the Caledonian Canal to Kytra locks – level and gentle

4) Enjoy freshly baked cakes and a coffee at Cobb’s Cafes at Urquhart Castle and the Clansman Hotel

5) Take a cruise out on Loch Ness with Jacobite Cruises – everyone must do this at some point during a visit to Loch Ness, it’s the best way to get up close and personal!

6) Look ‘over the edge’ at Plodda Falls – spectacular Victorian bridge worth a visit if you are in Strathglass area.

7) Find out all there is to know about shinty at the Shinty Shop, Drumnadrochit – like hockey but for men! Highlanders favourite sport

Enjoy all day good food at the Dores Inn – and walk it off as well some nice walks along Dores beach and the woods along the Caledonian Canal. 

9) Visit Loch Ruthven and see the rare Slavonian Grebe – the RSPB have a hide to watch Grebes Osprey and lots of other birds on this reserve.

10) Enjoy the unique splendour of Abriachan Garden and Nursery the only plant nursery on Loch Ness perhaps take a plant home to remind you of Loch Ness
 

Dont forget to drop by next week to see Part 2 - 11 to 20

You have got to love the fact that the web is abuzz with tweets about the NHS.

Like the Loch Ness Monster - the NHS is something that you either believe in or don’t, but the world would be a poorer place if the idea of it did not exist.

The offal truth

The Mirror: 4/08/2009

HAGGIS WAS ENGLISH, CRICKET IS BELGIAN AND PIZZA IS, ER, GREEK

It’s up there with the kilt, Rob Roy and the Loch Ness monster as one of the great Caledonian icons.

But now it appears the haggis was invented not by the Scots but by… the English.

Food historian Catherine Brown found references to the sheep’s innards-based dish in a 1615 recipe book, The English Hus-wife by Gervase Markham.

If it’s any consolation to our Scots readers, haggis is by no means the first national symbol to have its origins called into question.

LASAGNE

A medieval cookbook in the British Museum has a recipe for a dish of baked pasta and cheese called “loseyns”, prepared for Richard II in 1390.

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

It’s the most popular dish at Indian restaurants in Britain, but you won’t see it on a menu in India. The creamy curry was created in Scotland to cater for those who found Indian dishes too spicy.

STATUE OF LIBERTY

Made in France by sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and presented to the USA in 1886 for the centennial of the Declaration of Independence. There is a smaller replica on the bank of the Seine in Paris.

CORNISH PASTY

Don’t mention it in Cornwall, but it turns out the first pasty may well have been baked in neighbouring Devon.

Historians found references to a pasty in records from Plymouth dated 1510.

The oldest pasty recipe found in Cornwall dates from 1746.

AUSSIE SLANG

Most of the words we think of as Australian were imported Down Under from the London slums of the 19th century. Strewth.

BADMINTON

Badminton is named after a Gloucestershire manor, where it was first played in 1873. But the earliest form was played in ancient Greece, and the Japanese had a similar game in the 16th century.

CRICKET

The most English of sports was probably invented in Belgium and introduced here by Belgian immigrants around the 14th century. Linguists say the word cricket has Flemish roots.

TULIPS

Along with clogs and Edam cheese, the tulip is one of the symbols of the Netherlands. But it only arrived there in the 16th century from what is now Turkey.

GOLF

Prof Ling Hongling of Lanzhou University says the Chinese were playing a golf-like game using 10 clubs 1,000 years ago. Which would put paid to Scotland’s claim to have invented the game.

FISH AND CHIPS

English travellers were introduced to battered fried fish in Spain in the 17th century. And chips were invented in Belgium around 1680. But the English probably invented the chip shop - Dickens refers to one in Oliver Twist.

PIZZA

In ancient Greece, bakers topped thin disks of bread with oils, spices, herbs and vegetables, to create a meal with an edible plate. The Italians were the first to add tomatoes, in the 18th century, and cheese, in the 19th, to create the pizza we know.

SPANISH FLU

The pandemic of 1918-19, which claimed 20 million lives, has been unfairly called Spanish Flu. The first cases were in the US and the rest of Europe but because Spain was a neutral country with no censorship of demoralising news, it was perceived to be suffering the most.

SPAGHETTI

In 2005 a 4,000year-old dish of preserved noodles was unearthed near the Yellow River in China. It means the Chinese were making noodles from flour at least 2,000 years before the practice emerged in Italy.

CUCKOO CLOCK

The first cuckoo clock was created in the Black Forest area of southern Germany. The Swiss are more associated with it because many of the German workshops were destroyed in the First and Second World Wars, and Swiss clockmakers took over the tradition.