Urquhart Castle and Strathspey Railway
This was another big roadtrip day, just thinking about this jam packed day gives me shin splints all over again! So we began our journey to Urquhart Castle situated on Loch Ness. Naturally, Loch Ness is quite busy and I recommend buying tickets to the castle before you arrive. We drove to the castle and were directed to go back to the village to get tickets or purchase them on our phone because they were doing timed entry to help with crowds (totally understand by the way). You can purchase them near the castle at a nearby visitor center. You can also purchase them online however, I did not purchase an international phone plan and I couldn’t find wifi. Part of me thought it would be nice to travel abroad and not get an international phone plan and only use my phone when I was at my bnb with wifi. It was this day that made me realize just how much we rely on the ole internet and our phones I will share more about this in a moment. So needless to say I will get the international phone plan next time. Sooo we finally secure the tickets and make the mad dash to the castle! Just in time to watch the video about the history of Urquhart Castle. Following the short video we head out to explore the castle and the loch.
There is quite a bit to explore in and around the castle. I really enjoyed the old spiral staircases, it does make things interesting passing people on the staircase when it is busy but it adds to the fun. The views around the castle of Loch Ness are stunning as well.
After touring the castle and the grounds it was off to Aviemore for a train ride on the Strathspey Railway! Oh my word this was quite intense making that time hack haha. Our next obstacle was trying to find parking close enough to the train station since we needed to make a run for it. We found a spot but it was really tight, my dad later joked that it reminded him of the 3 point turning scene from Austin Powers. We ran down the streets of Aviemore to make it to the train on time. Again the shin splints were real, sorry mom and dad! haha We laugh about it now….right?! So we made it to the train station but the ticket counter is closed. My dad noticed a bridge you can cross to get to more platforms he waves at us and mom and I make the mad dash to meet up with him and the conductor. Thankfully we didn’t miss the train we were there right on time though. The conductor was really nice and said that about five minutes before he had tried to call and ask if we were cancelling or on our way…See what I mean about needing the phone plan?! We said we had left from Loch Ness and he asked if we had seen Nessie to which we replied unfortunately not. He said “Oh, that’s right it’s Tuesday and she doesn’t come out on Tuesdays.” haha Anywho, it was quite comical and felt like the amazing race a little bit. I think we were all so excited to sit on the train for a wee bit.
The train was a little toasty but we were so happy to rest for a bit and enjoy the views of the countryside. The conductor did mention that because of the heatwave they were not able to use the steam engine. I suppose we will just have to go back. It was a nice easygoing train ride. Some practical notes about the train ride: there are restrooms but you can only use them when the train is in motion, there is no air-conditioning, and it isn’t a very fast train.
The turnaround point for our ride was at Broomhill which was also used in Monarch of the Glen so there is signage of the “Glenbogle” railway station. My family are big fans of Monarch of the Glen so it was really cool to see another filming location serendipitously. After a short break at Broomhill we headed back to Aviemore.
It was so nice to see the sheep and the heather that was in bloom. Another employee was telling us that in August the hillside would look like a sea of purple with the peak bloom of the heather. That would be so lovely and hope to visit during August sometime to see all of the heather.