Last Hurrah in the Highlands, Part III: Inverness to Glasgow & the Neverending Search for Nessie

Our last leg of our journey took us to the northern coast of Scotland, to Inverness. It’s one of the most northern cities in the U.K., lying between where the River Ness enters the Moray Firth to the north, with the expanse of Loch Ness to the south. It’s considered the capital of the Highlands, and is full of Scottish charm.

We arrived late Monday evening to a hotel, the first time we’d been to one in months since we had only been using AirBnB rentals. But we were happy with the measures in place and cleanliness of the hotel, and it was nice to arrive somewhere we could throw our bags down and relax. The boys were happy it had a pool and we could order Pizza Hut from a food delivery app on my phone. Cheers to the culture of cities!

The next morning we woke up, took another swim at the pool since we had booked in the night before. We had it pretty much to ourselves, and I think it may have been one of the best part of the trip for the boys, naturally. We packed up and headed out to explore, first getting a great breakfast at a little spot called the Grumpy Chef. (Tosa friends, perhaps Scotland’s version of Cranky Al’s?!!) We were sold on their bacon and banana waffle. Bennett got himself an Irn Bru, a kind-of-orange-flavored soft drink that’s a Scottish original.

We walked around for a bit, since it was a lovely day and our only plan was to work our way south and find an impossible-to-spot sea monster. We popped into a couple of stores where I replaced Nate’s lovely tweed cap, bought a few gifts and secured a Christmas ornament.

We could have spent more time exploring Inverness and seeing its main attractions. But we had been so on-the-go this whole trip, it was nice to have time to walk around and let the city reveal itself to us. We ended at Bellfield Park, where the boys played on the playground. We even caved and let them chase virtual Pokemon characters on Pokemon Go.

After some chill time, we headed out to drive along Loch Ness, arriving in time to take a boat ride on the loch. We were hunting for Nessie. I’m sure you’re all aware of the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, but it was fun to refresh the boys’ memory about the sightings and legacy and watch them keep their eyes peeled, just in case. Every now and again, if you squinted enough and stared into the dark, murky water, you could almost get a glimpse of a shadow…at least that’s what we kept telling ourselves.

Loch Ness is the largest lake in the U.K. by water volume, though not in size. It contains more water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined, which we thought was interesting! Plus, it’s the perfect hiding spot for a sea monster because the water is so dark from the peat washed from the surrounding hills. We enjoyed our boat ride – the boys sipping hot chocolate and cruising past Urquhart Castle. It was built in the 13th century and was a critical battle ground site in various battles of the Highlands. Its ruins are still quite extensive, and used in scenes of the Outlander TV series. (I’ve never seen. But speaking of period dramas, who else is excited about the new season of The Crown?!)

After searching to no avail, we drowned our sorrows with ice cream, bought a couple of tacky souvenirs and Scottish shortbread cookies (can’t go wrong there), and hit the road again to begin working our way south. We arrived in Glasgow later that evening, ready to explore the next day.

After a meh hotel breakfast the next morning, we headed out. We stayed very close to the Glasgow Botanic Gardens, and while the main greenhouse building was closed, it was a very pretty, expansive park with lots of flower beds, walking paths, and a playground. PLUS a cutout board referencing Queen Victoria which I found hilarious; Bennett, less so. The boys played for a bit in the misting rain.

Glasgow is the biggest city in Scotland, with tons of areas to discover, but I had run out of steam with the planning by this portion of the trip and the city had so many things to do that we weren’t sure where to begin. Plus, we didn’t have much time; we needed to be back home by early evening, so we just had a couple of brief hours in the morning to explore. We decided to go searching for street art on the Glasgow Mural Trail.

It turned out to be a great option because it took us into the city and let us wander through the streets. The boys had fun using the map to try to find the location of the murals, since most of them are off of the beaten path. Normally I don’t encourage my children to sneak into dark allies in search of things, but hey, there seemed like no better time to start. The murals ranged from small to massive and we had fun spotting them, getting a little grimy as we snapped a photo and seeing how differently things can look when you step off of the main, pretty path. I had someone describe Glasgow to me as Edinburgh’s cooler, grittier cousin, ha. I’d been there once before for an overnight with my friend Stephanie, and we had amazing food and liked the chill feel.

There’s more info on the Glasgow Mural Trail here, so I won’t try to explain them each, but here are some of my favorites. The boys #1 pick? The pug and the sign changed to say “No Barking.” My favorite might be Tim standing on a dumpster to act like he’s being picked up by a giant with a magnifying glass.

After our wandering, we grabbed some lunch and headed for the car. And then, after we saw a donut shop, we grabbed a few of those for good measure. It was back to football practice, washing laundry, and catching up on school, and reveling in the normalcy that would come before another lockdown.

1000+ miles of driving, and worth it for every moment – from a ride on a windy ferry to a fairy pool, from a dramatic isle view to a kinda-hairy coo, from monster seeking to street art hunting, and singing happy birthday to Grant. Someday again (hopefully) soon, Scotland.