Today was also a packed program. We had booked tickets for Urquhart Castle the previous day after having been sent away due to lack of timed entry tickets.
But, first, we started off our day with breakfast in the hotel. It was included in the price of the room, so we decided to check if they had any vegan options. We were pleasantly surprised to find that they had hash browns, baked beans, cereal (corn flakes), bread (with plant-based butter) plus they could give us oat milk for coffee/tea. We confirmed with them that the hash browns and baked beans were all vegan. So, we were able to start the day well nourished. Sahana packed some stuff for Rashmi in case she hadn't got anything to eat in the hostel.
Our first stop was the Loch Ness cruise. The weather was very pleasant in Inverness and that fooled Sahana and I into thinking that we would be OK with dressing moderately warmly. We were very badly mistaken. The temperature at Loch Ness was about 5 degrees colder plus the wind was howling, so it felt like 45 deg and we were absolutely freezing our butts off! It was too late to do anything about it, so we decided were forced to brave it.
We were first in line to board the boat and we chose to go to the top deck and sit by the side so we could see the Loch Ness monster when it waved its tentacles at us to say 'Hi'! No, seriously, there was really not much to see except the vast, dark surface of the lake. The lake is the second deepest in the UK and the lake with the most volume of water in the British Isles. It's about 770ft at the deepest point and it is lacking in nutrients so there's not too much marine life in it. There was some commentary on the boat ride that was informative and interesting. They have a sonar display on the boat that can tell you if it detects any object (or animal) as it cruises over the lake but sadly, nothing unusual came up during our cruise. About halfway through the cruise, we decided to go to the lower deck where we would not be exposed to the cold wind.
After the cruise ended, we did the obligatory shopping in the gift shop and then proceeded to Urquhart Castle. We had already seen the castle from the lake during our cruise but now we would be touring the inside of the castle. The whole castle is mostly in ruins, so there aren't any rooms or artifacts or anything to look at. Most of the informational boards are just theorizing what a certain area may have been used for (kitchen, stables, guard room, great hall, etc). The weather had improved a bit by then, so we took some time to explore the grounds and the castle in some detail.
Our next stop was Farm Ness, a farm where we could pet and feed animals. They have timed entry tickets so I bought three tickets for ourselves and we drove there as soon as we were done with Urquhart Castle. The price of the ticket included a paper bag per person with some seeds/grains or something like that which we could use to feed the animals. There were goats, sheep, pigs, cows, chickens, rabbits and alpacas. We were instructed not to use the feed for the rabbits or chickens, so we focused more on feeding the other animals. There were (obviously!) a LOT of little kids having fun especially with the goats. Some of the goats are very aggressive and butt the little ones out and try to get their mouths in front! It was really difficult (and funny) to find a way to feed the little ones without allowing the bigger ones to hog all the food. Feeding the cows, pigs, sheep and alpacas was also fun but with only one packet, it didn't last very long. Sahana and Rashmi were talking to the animals in Kannada but the animals didn't have Duolingo or Google Translate, so they just looked blankly back at them.
Our next stop was a place called Glen Affric but first, we had to refill gas. Our rental car was a hybrid which meant that we were getting almost 60 miles per gallon and the gas tank level was still showing that we could go another 225 miles but I felt more comfortable with the gas tank being full, so we found a "petrol station" and filled up.
Glen Affric is a wooded area about 10 miles from Loch Ness but through some really narrow roads. It is sometimes reputed to be the most beautiful/scenic glen (or valley) in all of Scotland. There are a few trails there that lead you through a set of trees (Caledonian Pines) which have been there for centuries. We picked one of the shorter/easier trails and walked till a viewpoint which was about 20-25 min from the parking lot. The trail went uphill pretty steeply all the way till the end, so it gave us some good exercise. The view was nice with hills and a loch in the background but, to be honest, we had seen much more stunning landscapes in the Isle of Skye. We hung around there for a couple of minutes and then headed back to the parking lot.
It was a bit early but we decided that we were hungry enough for dinner. The previous day, when we ate at the food court and ordered from the vegan fast food place, we had noticed an Indian restaurant which seemed to have some vegan items on their menu, so we decided to order from there for a change. We parked the car in the same mall's parking garage and walked about 5 minutes to the indoor marketplace with the food court. The indoor marketplace was built during the era of Queen Victoria and had been renovated a few times since then, so we walked briefly through the shops and looked at the quaint construction.
The restaurant had a naan that was vegan and it was huge, so Sahana and I shared one with channa masala and we also had a samosa chaat as an appetizer. Honestly, I think I just found a worthy competitor to Vegz in the samosa chaat department! It was too yummy for words. Even the naan and channa masala was very tasty.
Done with dinner, we walked back to the parking structure, picked up our car and after dropping Rashmi off in her hostel, we went back to our hotel and turned in for the night.
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