Christmas Adventures - Hunt for Nessie

I must say, I'm surprised we haven't had any more comments on the photograph at the bottom of our Hadrian's Wall post (http://www.adammichelle.com/2013/01/christmas-adventures-great-wall.html). Or is it that our friends and family are so clever that you all know what those creatures are that are hanging off the farmer's fence??!! If you don't know, I'd love to hear your guesses - you'll be surprised when you hear the answer!

Now, back to our Scottish Holiday. After having a whole lazy-day on Christmas Day, I was itching to get out and about on Boxing Day. Most tourist places were closed, so I managed to convince Adam that we should drive to Loch Ness and search for Nessie.

• Loch Ness is situated on a geological fault that runs from Inverness (to the north) to Fort William (in the south) - and yes, this did make me a little nervous! 
• The loch is over 36 kilometres long, 2.7 kilometres across at its widest point, and, in its deepest place, the bottom lies 226 metres down... 
• Loch Ness contains more fresh water than all the other lakes in England combined.
• The water is relatively murky, due to the high peat content of the soil around the loch.
• Loch Ness is also incredibly beautiful - much like the rest of Scotland...

Unfortunately, after searching the azure water for quite some time, neither of us had made any sightings of anything even remotely suspicious. Though this duck could almost pass for a prehistoric monster. Right??

 We also saw one of the search-for-Nessie tour boats, and wished we'd booked a trip on the stunning loch.

Next, we went to the Five-star Loch Ness Exhibition Centre at Drumnadrochit for a revision session in Nessie mythology. The information was interesting, but we agreed we'd rate it more of a three-star attraction, and probably not worth $14 NZD per person. However, it was not a waste of time, mostly because we got to see this:

(a submarine that took part in a search for the monster) (And Adam)

And this:

(A water horse - one of the original mythological creatures said to inhabit the Loch Ness. Cool stuff.)

When we'd finished at the Exhibition Centre and its gift shop, we drove to Urquhart Castle, a ruin on the shores of the Lake that makes a magnificent backdrop for pictures. Unfortunately, it was closed and my morals refused to allow us to jump the fence and enter anyway, like so many other tourists were doing... Morals are such a nuisance, eh?

To console ourselves, we drove a bit further around the lake and took some more pictures.

As it was then growing ever colder and darker (i.e. it was nearly 3pm), we decided to abandon our hunt for Nessie and head back to our bothy with its warm fire. 

Well, that was another thing crossed off my bucket list - though unfortunately we didn't even catch a glimpse of anything suspicious on the lake. Loch Ness is an absolutely stunning place; both of us agree we'd go back in a heartbeat, and I'd thoroughly recommend you all try and visit that part of the world. 

Scotland's geography is pure magic, mythological monsters or not.