Loch Ness, Scotland

And then we drove to Loch Ness! We stopped at a small boat dock area where you could take a ride out on the lake or explore the nearby hills and shoreline. At the entrance to the tunnel to cross under the road was Nessie herself. Our kids weren't sure if all the hulabaloo about this supposed monster was true or not. We left it in the air for them.

A little background about the famous Loch Ness Monster: In July of 1933 a couple swore they saw a giant sea monster shimmy across the road in front of their car by Loch Ness. Within days, ancient legends about giant monsters in the lake dating back as far as the sixth century were revived and suddenly everyone was spotting "Nessie." Further sightings and photographic "evidence" have bolstered the claim that there's something mysterious living in this unthinkably deep and murky lake. I think deep down, the real reason anyone wants to visit Loch Ness is the hope that Nessie is real and they'll catch a glimpse of her.

We walked down to the lake and let the kids look for the monster. Do you spy anything in the water?

Getting my shoes wet in Loch Ness. #ihavethisthingwithmonsterinfestedlakes

Throwing rocks in the water, as is their wont.

This was probably their favorite part of the whole trip - throwing rocks into Loch Ness! The bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Ness. 

The lake is quite impressive, even without the monster lore. It is 23 miles long, less than a mile wide, and the third deepest in Europe, almost 1,000 feet deep! In fact, the lake is so deep and large that is contains more water than all the other freshwater bodies in England and Wales combined.

A Loch Ness Project Nessie hunter boat.

The nearby hotel had a giftshop with every imaginable permutation of Nessie toy.

Jane picked a stuffed version and Fox went with the awesome hat. We went upstairs to the restaurant for lunch with a view.

:)

When our time was up, we piled back on the bus with the 15 or so other guests and continued on.

We stopped at a lovely spot with a waterfall and an old bridge. I can't remember that name of the place though! Anybody?

Beautiful Scotland!

Down at the bottom end of Loch Ness is Fort Augustus, another town living on the legend of Nessie.

Chris taking a picture of Inverness, near the top end of Loch Ness. Our tour guided really hated this city. He kept going on about how much he disliked it. When he pointed out the castle he said, "It's a crappy castle. A crappy castle for a crappy city." Lol. I thought it looked quite charming and really wish we could have stopped!

Our family at Loch Ness, Scotland on Saturday August 20th 2016.

The rest of the day and in-between these places we drove all around the Highlands so a recap of all that lovely nature is next!