Scottish Tour Guide's Blog

This morning, our tour commenced in Fort Augustus in the Scottish Highlands. After departing our lodgings we headed north, tracking Loch Ness, with first stop at the scenic Invermoriston Falls.

Invermoriston Falls, Great Glen, Scotland

Next, continuing north for about 20 mins we arrived at Castle Urquhart, an excellent spot to view Loch Ness. Today, there was a medieval event in process at the Castle.

Castle Urquhart, Loch Ness, Scotland

Next we continued north to Inverness, Capital of the Highlands. Here guests shopped for clan tartans at Highland House of Fraser and then we had lunch.

River Ness, Inverness, Scotland

Next across the Moray Firth to Fortrose and Chanonry Point where we hoped to view dolphins but, sadly, they failed to show up.

Next we headed west to Muir of Ord where we stopped to photograph the Free Church of Urray, important in the family’s history.

Free Church of Scotland, Urray, Scotland

Next to nearby Glen Ord Distillery where we joined a tour lasting about 1 hour to learn about the making of Scotch whisky from malting and mashing through to fermentation, distillation and maturation. Glen Ord produces the Singleton brand which is aimed at the Far East market.A sizable distillery, producing about 5.0m litres p.a.

Tour Group at Glen Ord Distillery, Scotland

Next to a small village named Marybank where, with assistance from a very helpful local resident, we found our objective of a ruined cottage, formerly the home of an ancestor. We spent some time here taking photographs.

Mackay Cottage, Marybank, Scotland

Mackay Cottage, Marybank, Scotland

Finally, we moved on to Dingwall  and lodgings for the night at  Tulloch Castle Hotel, the main part of which dates from the 16th century.

Tulloch Castle Hotel, Dingwall, Scotland

Overall, a successful day with all objectives met.

Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland

This morning, I collected guests from Edinburgh Grassmarket and then drove north to the ancient Scottish capital of Stirling. Here we spent about 1 hour exploring the famous medieval castle which now features a heavily restored Royal Palace.

Main Entrance to Stilring Castle, Scotland

Royal Apartments, Stirling Castle, Scotland

Next we drove up the A9 to nearby Tullibardine Distillery where we availed of a distillery tour which lasted about 1 hour and concluded with tasting of two single malts.

Whisky Stills at Tullibardine Distillery, Scotland

Leraning about maturation at Tullibardine Distillery, Scotland

After a light lunch at Tullibardine we continued north to Dalwhinnie Distillery. Here, the group availed of  a tastings session (single malts).

Aftewr Dalwhinnie we continued north , via Spean Bridge, up through the Great Glen to Castle Urquhart on Loch Ness.Here we explored the castle, photogrpahed the views of Loch Ness together with a timely rainbow and then continued north to Inverness for refuelling. Finally we headed south to Speyside and our lodgings for the night at An Cala in Grantown-on-Spey.

Castle Urquhart, Loch Ness, Scotland

Rainbow over Castle Urquhart, Loch Ness, Scotland

Overall, a satisfying day with the tour achieving schedule. Tomorrow we visit two Speyside distilleries and then head south to Edinburgh.

Street Scene, Fort William, Scotland

 This evening, I am posting information on Fort William in the Scottish Highlands. The name is derived from a British military fort originating in the 17th and 18th centuries which was built to control the Highlands. Specifically, it is named after King William (1650-1702).

Fort William has a reputation as a centre for outdoor activities including hiking, climbing, skiing and mountain biking. It is a good base for touring the area and provides access to Glenfinnan and Skye, Glencoe, Glen Nevis  the Great Glen to Loch Ness , the Caledonian Canal and the ‘Harry Potter’  train. Close by is Ben Nevis, Scotland’s tallest mountain (4406ft.) which is accessible to most able bodied persons.

In the immediate vicinity can be found Inverlochy Castle, Loch Linnhe, Ben Nevis Distillery and Glen Nevis. There is also Aonoch Mor  chair lift which provides a 15 min trip up into the mountains with the reward of stunning views.

Here is Inverlochy Castle.

Inverlochy Castle, Fort William, Scotland

 Here is Ben Nevis Distillery. Tours are available.

Ben Nevis Distillery, Fort William, Scotland

 Here is a view of the Nevis range of mountains which include Ben Nevis

Nevis Range, Fort William, Scotland

Fort William invariably features in my tours of the Western Highlands.