Description: Urquhart Castle is an impressive ruin on the western shore of Loch Ness, near the village of Drumnadrochit. For those driving along the A82 between Fort Augustus and Inverness, Urquhart can quite simply take the breath away. It sits beautiful and serene on a small spit of land extending into and slightly above the loch. The ruins are graceful, honed by time into a tranquil scene that belies their original purpose as a stronghold for waging the endless clan wars of the region—not to mention the wars between the Scots and the English.
Pass the castle at night and it will be floodlit, its stones appearing golden in the surrounding darkness. Pass it in spring, and the bright yellow accents of gorse dot the surrounding landscape. Pass it in winter after a snowfall, and its outlines are draped under a white blanket to create a fairyland effect. Any time one passes Urquhart there will be a reason to pay attention. Like the effects created by the seasons, the surface of the loch will add drama to the surroundings. Whether catching rays of sunlight, reflecting an overcast sky, or dancing under a deluge of rain, the loch dominates the mood of the view.
Himself and Yours Truly have passed the castle several times, but until this summer when we took our grandson on a tour of British castles, we had never actually toured the grounds. Since Urquhart is also what you might call "Nessie central" (with most of the sightings occurring near here), it was on our list for two reasons—as a site to visited in its own right and for its Nessie lore.
Nessie folklore experienced an unprecedented explosion during the 20th century, and Urquhart was often at its heart. One of my favorite tales, one picked up by popular culture and the film industry, has Nessie (and possibly her children) taking refuge in partially submerged caverns beneath Urquhart. Some of the tales suggest that a hidden stairway led down from the castle into the caverns, and that local folk knew the secret of communicating with the legendary beast. All this is relevant only to the degree that even a skeptic must bow to the lure of the legend.
Our visit to Urquhart therefore concentrated primarily on the castle, beginning with an orientation video in the visitor centre. This is one orientation video not to be missed. It provides a relatively standard history of the castle, its former residents, and its eventual destruction. But at the end of the film, the screen rises, a set of drapes in front of the auditorium open to reveal a wall of windows, and the castle is revealed as a sweeping panorama. It is an unexpected moment of pure magic. (The visitor center, by the way, is tucked largely into the hillside facing the castle and is as understated as a full-fledged facility of this sort can be.)
After viewing the orientation video, Himself, Yours Truly, and our 11-year-old grandson walked down to the castle itself. Although most of the ruins can be freely accessed, a few areas are restricted to protect either the safety of the visitor or the integrity of the structure. The best-preserved portion of the castle (and our grandson’s favorite) is the so-called Tower House. This structure originally served as the residence for the baronial families that ruled here. What remains of the tower has been stabilized, and a stairway allows visitors to climb up to a magnificent view of Loch Ness. Our grandson spotted nesting birds in the ground-level chamber, and he was almost as excited by these modern-day residents as he was by the tower and the view.
A ground-based platform and surviving walls on the southern end of the castle provide 360-degree views of the whole area, particularly of land-based accesses to the castle. This feature is located on a small hill and is believed to have once been occupied by the smithy and the dovecot.
Of course, our wanderings about the grounds at Urquhart included obligatory scans of the loch for evidence of Nessie. We saw boats from the nearby marina, boat wakes seemingly disembodied from their source, the opposite shoreline, and occasional bits of floating debris (leaves and such). We found a small projection extending out of the water near the shore—a tiny Nessie perchance? No, when viewed through a telephoto lens, it turned out to be nothing more than the end of a small pipe. The fabled staircase to Nessie's underground lair also eluded us—possibly it was hidden away among those areas with restricted access! The only Nessie we found was, alas, in the gift shop.
Speaking of gift shops, the Visitor Centre has a fine one with a wide range of merchandise. It also has a cafeteria, exhibit space, the auditorium where we viewed the orientation film, and excellent loos. And there is a sizable car park that can accommodate coaches as well as automobiles.
At Urquhart as at other locations around Loch Ness, we failed to find Nessie. Nevertheless, we had a excellent time exploring the castle grounds, learning about its past, and allowing Nessie lore to enhance our perceptions—not to mention selecting just the right mementos from the gift shop.
You’d be hard-pressed indeed to carry away disappointment of any kind from an outing at Urquhart Castle.
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