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The last the day in Edinburgh was spent walking around the
New City. It was going to be heading out to see
Rosalyn Chapel, made famous by Dan Brown's
The Da Vinci Code, but after finding out that the bus takes an hour to get out there and another back (and I only had until 4pm before my train to Inverness), I gave it a miss.
The New City, on the opposite side of Princes Street Gardens, was the city built when the Old City was too full and disease ridden to live in in any numbers any more. They did a good job with it though. The streets are spaced around parkland and all the ones that run down to the gardens have monuments in the centre islands. This side of the city has become the paramount shopping precinct for Edinburgh. Finding Edinburgh's
Hard Rock Cafe I popped in for a couple of snaps (I say a couple because it is by far and away the least interesting of all the one's I've been to).
Arriving back at the station at 3.30pm, I find trains being delayed left, right and centre and even a few being cancelled. Luckily
the ones being cancelled were the ones that had later services but a couple of hours later and I was still at the platform waiting to be told we were all go. Luckily, I had phoned ahead to the hostel to let them know I was going to be later than specified, and been told that as long as I was there before 2am I was safe. By 6.15pm and a 4 hour trip still to come, I was starting to wonder if it was going to happen. Finally, at 6.30pm, the platform got announced and we were away just before seven.
Heading further North, the scenery slowly gets more rugged as the train passes over rivers and through mountains. In the fading twilight it's quite beautiful and gives a real sense of isolation. Finally making it to
Inverness at 10.30pm (thank God it's still light at that time here), all I managed was to get to the hostel with a quick side trip to grab some food. Quite disappointing really!!
The next morning I was raring to go again with a trip out to
Loch Ness planned and maybe even catch a glimpse of
Nessy herself. First
stop....
Castle Urquart. Nestled on the shores of the loch, the castle itself is in a sorry state but gives you a good idea of what it was like in it's prime. What's really spectacular is it's location. From the site, you get unparalleled views of Loch Ness with a stunning backdrop of mountains and forests. When I retire, this is where it should be (except it would be a bit draughty living in a run down castle). The rest of the afternoon was spent walking the shores of the loch and discovering little towns set back up the hills, full of fascinating little cottages and people enjoying the landscape.
Up and off again, I headed out the other side of town the following morning, destination....
Fort George. The largest fort in Britain and still manned by the military, it was built in the 17th Century as a sign of power from the English after defeating
Bonnie Prince Charlie on
Culloden Battlefield, five miles to the West. With it's battlements and mottes aimed squarely at stopping another Scottish advance from land, it became redundant after the State Of Union was signed, joining Scotland to England and Wales creating Britain.
Later, in the 18th Century, the defences were turned around to stop an incursion from the French by sea as it was thought that Napoleon would concentrate his efforts through there. The invasion never eventuated and the fort became more of a training ground as years wore on.
Back to Inverness station for my train, I would be crossing half of the country in six hours as I made my way back down to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne for the night.
"The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page." - Saint Augustine
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