Our first stop today is the M&S Food Hall. We stock up on breakfast and lunch here. Then we’re off to the Glennfinnan Viaduct: the Harry Potter train is due to pass through at 10.45 am. The visitor centre car park is already very full, and sure enough, crowds of people are streaming towards the viaduct. Unfortunately, however, we read on a sign: “Steam train cancelled”. Oh well. We walk to the beautiful viaduct anyway. Here, people are packed tightly together on the hill. They probably haven’t seen the sign or believe it to be a hoax. And just as we’ve climbed to the top, a train does pass by after all… but it’s a modern one.

We thought we’d have to drive from this side valley back to the main valley and then into the next side valley, thus making a long detour to get to Eilan Donan Castle. But Google Maps and the sat-nav both recommended driving to the end of the side valley instead and then taking the road along the coast. So this is what we do! And the coastline, with its rugged cliffs and islands in the distance, really does offer a breathtaking view. The road also runs alongside a railway line at various points. We can’t say for certain whether it’s the same one as the one from the viaduct.

Then, suddenly, the sat-nav stops saying “turn left” or “keep right” and instead tells us: “Take the ferry”. Which ferry? Oh! It turns out the sat-nav had planned this in without telling us. There’s no other road to take. So we ask at the ferry terminal where the boat is actually going, then buy a ticket to Armadale and are in luck: The next ferry still has space and we can board straight away. A few minutes later, the ramp closes and we set sail. At a fair pace and with quite a bit of rocking, the ferry heads for the Isle of Skye. A good half an hour later, we dock there – still quite taken aback by the surprise trip to this island, but with many new impressions to take away.

From Armadale, we head north-east. First we follow the coastline, then head inland. It’s fascinating to see how the vegetation changes constantly as we drive. Eventually, we reach the other side of the island – which would stretch much further north – and cross the only bridge back to the mainland. From here, it’s not far to Eilan Donan Castle. The castle was built on a peninsula that becomes an island at high tide and is accessible only via a narrow bridge. We enjoy our picnic lunch with a view of the castle and then carry on.

Our final stop for today is Urquhart Castle. All that remains of this castle is a ruin, perched high above Loch Ness. We cross the drawbridge to reach the gate house, parts of which are still intact. We enjoy our afternoon snack whilst keeping a watchful eye out for Nessie, to no avail. Unfortunately, this lower area was the only part accessible via a wheelchair ramp. All the paths leading to the rest of the site have steps. So only Chrige and I can continue exploring the ruins, whilst Gabi waits in the castle courtyard.

As we continue our drive along Loch Ness, we are disappointed: unlike all the other lochs we’ve seen so far, there is neither a road close to the water nor any paths leading from the car parks down to it. It’s almost as if the locals want to prevent outsiders from getting to the loch at all. I suppose they don’t want anyone to discover Nessie’s secret. We arrive at the hotel around 7 pm and set off again an hour later to get dinner from McDonald’s – one has to support the Scots, even the fake ones. 😉 But this time we are disappointed: all the sauces we ordered and the ketchup are missing when we open the paper bag in our hotel room.