Day 20: Loch Ness--no ichthyosaur sightings yet

This morning I made plans to get some hiking in and maybe hop down to Loch Ness. I got a late start, unfortunately, and didn't actually catch a bus to the little lakeside town of Drumnadrochit until almost one. Finally got a view of the loch, and it is gorgeous.

The third deepest lake in Europe, and certainly the largest lake in Britain (by volume)

I went on a lovely little hike to a viewpoint called Craig Monie, which offered excellent views of the hills by the loch. The trail itself was quite pretty too!

Beautiful countryside I got to see

I met some Americans at the top and spent the rest of my time in Drumnadrochit with them. We hiked down to the loch, which involved a bit of pathfinding and at one point fording a stream that supposedly had a footbridge but really had some logs that had washed up in the shallows and provided a sort of a crossing. But we got to the loch! It was peaceful and beautiful, and seemed to be a nice temperature (by the hand-dip test).

I haven't seen clear skies since Arizona, practically, but the clouds sure have been dramatic

Playing with my waterproof shoes

Later that night, I met up with one of the Americans at a pub to catch some traditional Irish music. We ended up talking with a couple of the musicians until that bar closed, then went to another one that was open until three. Got to try whisky (which I don't like yet) and some local organic beer from the Black Isle (which I quite liked, as beer goes). Made some new friends and even practiced my Scottish accent! It was a great night.