LANDMARK: The castle Urqhart is situated by the northern shore of Loch Ness. It is a landmark, and visited by thousands of tourists every year. We saw the castle from the seaside, a majestic view.
The inlet into Inverness from Lerwick is shallow and narrow. In Inverness is the first lock in the 96 kilometres long Caledonian canal that was to take us through Scotland and into the Irish Sea. A system of 10 swing bridges ad 29 locks sees to it that all ships travelling through the canal reach a height above sea level of up to 33 metres. A strange experience for a mariner! The leisure traffic through the canal is extensive during the Summer months. Underveis had never sailed in freshwater before, and we had never sailed in a canal. But the most highly professional bridgekeepers saw to it that it became a laidback business for us. We have hardly encountered more friendly and service-minded people ever before! Along the canal there are many beautiful things to see, and much to do. So most people choose to spend some time there, once they are there.
SCOTLAND: Our journey through the Caledonian canal was not only the first time Underveis sailed in freshwater, or the first time she travelled above sea level. During our passage through Scotland we also experienced our first frosty nights, a firm reminder that old man Father Winter is breathing mercilessly down our spines as we sail steadily into the south.
SAFELY BERTHED: Underveis safely berthed in freshwater for the first time in her 20 years. Here we are waiting to enter the locks into Loch Ness.
We spent a week and a half on the trip, and enjoyed ourselves by trekking in the glen, Loch Ness and going to the many nice inns situated along the canal. Before we came to Scotland, we had heard of friendly, hospitable and skirted people. We had also heard tales of the infamous Scottish stinginess, immortalized in the Walt Disney character Scrooge McDuck. As in Shetland, we experienced the opposite. The hospitality was enormous, and being Norwegian in Scotland was next to being royalty. After two weeks in Scotland, we are tempted to suggest a change in policy from Walt Disneys towards the Scottish people...
In Fort Augustus we encountered the first frosty nights, and sugar white snow started to crawl down the hillsides on the tallest mountains. A firm reminder that winter is approaching. We glanced at eachother and knew that it was time to move on, towards the Equator. There has been a lot of bad weather lately. The weather windows we sail on, are down to about 12 hours, which make the sailing legs short and intensive. What we will remember the most about Scotland, is the breathtaking nature that towered up over us as we sailed along in narrow and shallow canals, but also on long and mirror-like lakes. (sorry, lochs!) As we were there, nature exploded into red, orange and purple around us, and large flocks of migrating birds flew hig above our heads on their southbound journey. We waved at them, knowing that we will meet many of them again in 2-3 months, when also we have reached the warm and sunny shores in the south.
TIGHT: The Caledonian canal is narrow, and everybody has to show consideration. There is a lot of internal traffic on the canal, and many people keep their boats in it all year round.
THE HIGHLANDS: The Scottish highland exploded in red, orange and purple as we travelled by. Here from the hills above Fort Augustus. It is easy to see where the world famous Scottish whisky has its deep, amber colour from.
FACTS ABOUT SCOTLAND:
# Scotland is a part of Great Britain, and the capital is Edinburgh.
# Approximately 5 million people live in Scotland. 500,000 people live in Edinburgh.
# Fisheries, oil industry, service industry and whisky production are the main industries.
# Scotland has long since wanted independence from Great Britain, a fact the Scots frequently express towards foreigners visiting.
# The talles mountain in Great Britain, Ben Nevis (App. 4,400 feet above sea level) is situated in Scotland, near Fort William.
# Bank cards are accepted in most shops, and there are ATMs everywhere. The price level on food and drinks is half of that in Norway.
(Source: www.visitscotland.com)
ON NESSIE-DETAIL: Finn Olav looking for Nessie as we enter into Loch ness. With a camcorder and a foot on the wheel he is ready for almost everything. We were lucky with the weather across the world famous lake (sorry, loch!)
TRAFFIC-JAM: Who would have thought that Underveis would ever cause a traffic jam! Everytime we crossed under a swing bridge, all traffic had to be stopped.
WATERFALL: The Scottish nature took us by heart, and we spent many hours out and abour, searching for photomotives. Little waterfalls, deep forests, blue skies and cattle and sheep grazing in the wild simply begged to be photographed.
FISHERMEN: Many fishing boats cross through the Caledonian canal on their way between the eastcoast and the westcoast of Scotland, instead of taking the long and ardous journey north of the Hebrides and the Orkneys.
