Today we got our first glimpse of Loch Ness on our way to visit the remains of Urquhart Castle.
Urquhart Castle is thought to have been built on a Pictish fort from back in 700 AD. Urquhart was a medieval stronghold that saw lots of military action from the 1200s until it was destroyed in 1692. So now visitors can only see the remaining castle, but there is lots of information about the life in the medieval castle. Over time, Urquhart came to be seen as a noble ruin in a majestic setting overlooking Loch Ness. It is now one of the most visited castles in Scotland.
After leaving the castle, we headed to Clava Cairns, a sacred prehistoric site. The Clava Cairns are about 4000 years old and were built to house the dead. The cairns were engineered to align with the winter solstice. On the shortest day of the year, sunlight streams up the chamber to illuminate the chamber. For the Bronze-Age farmer, this was a forbidding time of year with short days, long nights, cold weather and dead crops.
The Clava Cairns are said to have provided the inspiration for Craigh na Dun to Outlander's author, Diana Gabaldon. Craigh na Dun is the ancient stone circle by which Claire Randall travels back in time from 1945 to 1743.We were a little hesitant to touch the ancient rocks, but nothing happened and we stayed right in 2023! :-
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