Loch Ness Magical Moments 10 more things to do!
I sometimes wonder, in our attempts to make a place better for our visitors, do we sometimes lose sight of just what it is that makes this part of Scotland so special.
For many of us, it’s not the polished picnic benches, it’s sitting on a rock on the riverbank. It’s not the expensive restaurant, its devouring a cheese and Branston sandwich on a hill trail, squinting to glimpse a wheeling buzzard quartering the distant hillside. Its the wide open spaces without a soul in sight and a deep breath of clean air. Its the sky at night without the light pollution.
At Destination Loch Ness we do spend a lot of time trying to improve all sorts of beauty spots and attractions to make your visits more memorable, but it’s the little things that happen along the way that makes our Highland days so special. I can sum it up by telling you about my experience today on the way to Inverness.
First, I had to wait for a family of roe deer to browse their way across our garden before going out to my car. Then, within a mile of home, I slowed down to let a family of pheasants amble across the road, and as I slowed, a beautiful red squirrel scampered up a roadside birch tree, mouth full of hazelnuts. Then, a half mile farther on, a buzzard sat on a roadside post, lazily watching me drive slowly past.
These magical times are what we all want for our visitors to see, and more… I for one, didn’t have the heart to tell the lady, so excitedly telling us she had seen a Scottish wildcat on the forest centre picnic table at Inverfarigaig, that it was actually the local forester’s tabby cat cleaning up the picnic morsels!
Who am I to destroy her magical moment with a bombshell ? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Continuing the series of Ideas for things to do at Loch Ness
41 Sit and watch the boats go through the locks at Fort Augustus
42 Cycle the mountain bike trails of Abriachan Woods
43 Have a game of tennis at Fort Augustus
44 Challenge yourself at Balnain Bike Park
45 Climb Mealfurvonie, the highest point around Loch Ness
46 Drive over the Garbole road and look out for Golden Eagles
47 Pack your overnight gear and walk the Corrieyairick Pass
48 Throw stones in to Loch Ness but you won’t hear them reach the bottom!
49 Take a short walk through the enchanting woods to Divach Falls
50 Walk on water with Boots ‘n’ Paddles Outdoor pursuits