Not long into our trip we saw a rainbow that stayed with us for quite some time.
A field with sheep, including one black one.
A pretty Highlands lake.
We passed a man working his dogs.
Our first stop was Blair Castle.
Waiting to enter the castle tour, we met a friendly man and his equally friendly dog.
A group photo on the steps of Blair Castle.
No photos from the castle tour, as photography was not permitted inside. We wandered the grounds for a bit afterward. Peacocks were walking around in the coach parking area.
The area near Blair Castle isn't particularly hilly. We'll see the real hills in a bit.
We passed the Dalwhinnie Distillery, located here because of access to spring water and peat from nearby bogs.
Some craggy hills now. That's a tower with a cross at the peak of this hill.
A castle right on the shoreline of the loch.
The countryside has a certain wild beauty.
We visited a restaurant in Fort Augustus called The Boathouse for lunch. It's on the grounds of a former school, now turned into luxury residences.
The restaurant is at the very southern tip of Loch Ness. This is the view to the north.
Fetching pints to go with lunch.
This warning would seem to be a bit superfluous.
An excellent place for our final lunch together, and the food was very good as well.
Loch Ness, with a boat approaching. No sign of Nessie.
We explored the town after lunch. Fort Augustus sits astride a canal connecting Loch Ness with the loch just to the south; there's a chain of such canals making a long waterway out of a number of lochs.
I watched as a group of five pleasure boats made the passage from one lock to the next. There are five locks between the lochs (got that?).
Once the lock gates opened, the boat crews pulled the boats by hand into the next lock.
Fort Augustus' industry is now tourism. This building combined a B&B with a branch of the Bank of Scotland.
In the space of two blocks (which was much of the town center), I passed all these B&Bs and inns.
This inn looked nice. It features the Poacher's Bar.
As in Ireland, the road signs in the Highlands feature the Gaelic names first.
Just before leaving, a photo of yours truly at Loch Ness.
On the way back to Edinburgh, we stopped for photos at the site of the Battle of Culloden, near Inverness. It was the last battle fought on British soil, in 1746. The defeat of Charles Edward Stuart's forces by those of William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, ended the Jacobite attempt to overthrow the House of Hanover and restore the House of Stuart to the British throne.
This photo is a panorama constructed from several smaller images.
The stream flowing down the valley between the two hills at the right. This terrain is really steep.
Our final group shot, taken by our guide Norma at Culloden.
As we neared Edinburgh, our bus driver was required by law to take a 30-minute rest stop. He chose the town directly under the north end of the Firth of Forth bridge, and I was able to get this time exposure of the century-old bridge at twilight with a train approaching on the viaduct.
Exposure details: ISO 800, 3 seconds, f/4.5.
Here's where the photos were taken today.
The next morning the group had breakfast together at the Fraser Suites, and then most departed by bus for the Edinburgh airport and the long flight home. Some went on to other places in Europe and the UK. An excellent trip, and our thanks to all who helped arrange and conduct it.
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