Life Aboard the Scotish Highlander

European Waterways operates river barge cruses throughout Europe. One of their unique destinations is the West Highlands of Scotland.

We flew to Glasgow and took an enchanting four-hour train ride to Fort William. We spent the night in the lovely Inverlochy Castle Hotel and boarded the barge for our six-day cruise onboard the sixty mile Caledonian Canal. Twenty-two of these miles is completely man- made, with 29 locks to adjust for the various water levels.

The Scottish Highlander is 117 feet long and, several years ago, it was converted into a luxury hotel barge with a capacity of 8 passengers. It travels on the canal at a maximum speed of 7 miles per hour. You can ride, get off and walk, or bike along its towpath and be as active or relaxed as you wish.
The fees are all inclusive: including 3 gourmet meals a day with unlimited wine and cocktails and all the entrance tickets to all the activities. There is a crew of 4 (captain, cook, tour guide, and server) for 8 passengers (however there are only 6 on our trip).
Our travel mates are very interesting; one couple, Andrew and Susan, are from London. He is an author, having written a couple of travel books and she is an interpreter from English to German. The other couple, Steve and Jill, are from Melbourne, Australia. He is a retired Hydrologist who ran a very large consulting company working in the area of water management for governments and mining companies worldwide. They have traveled the world, and it is most interesting to learn so much about water as I have in these few days. Every meal brings stimulating conversation.
The Highlands of Scotland are breathtaking, as I am sure you have seen in many films— Most recently, you may have seen the Steam Train in the Harry Potter film—very nearby.

Sunday
We boarded the boat at 4:00 P.M. after a safety briefing from the Captain and a quick overview of the coming days. We were escorted to our cabins to un-pack and get moved in for the next 6 days. Our cabin has a full bath, king size bed and plenty of storage for our luggage. But not much passing room. So it’s a bit cozy.

This was followed by a tasty dinner of Risotto Appetizer, Roasted Duck, Roasted Root Vegetables, and Hearty Crusted Bread. A fine selection of regional wines, and tortes or pie follow, with a finishing round of local cheeses and fruit to cap off a simply splendid meal. If this is what the food is going to be like on this trip--- its gonna be a gastronomical feast!

Monday
A colloquial breakfast was served at 8:00 A.M. with fresh slabs of Scottish Ham and eggs. At 9:15 we were off in a van to the valley of Glencoe, a lush and green valley of mountains and streams. This was followed by a detailed tour of the Ben Nevis Distillery, maker of single malt scotch whiskey. And by tours’ end, one may want to build a distillery right at home! At 2:00, we pulled away from the dock, headed up the canal, winding our way through glens of heather, rolling mountains, and ever changing cloud formations. Ft. William, and many other Highland towns, is loaded with B&B’s. It often seems that there is a local inn as often as every other home.
Our tour guide, Linda, took us to what she called “Fairy Glen” along a path hidden in the woods where locals have brought many items to create this little secret spot. Its’ primary charm is the fact that this is a secret place that few discover. “Our little secret” if you will. You will not see any thing about this enchanting spot in the tour books, and even if you parked 100 yards away, you still may not find it.
Imagine walking through the woods and coming onto a group of tiny dollhouses. That is not what is here, but that image will give you a taste of what we experienced.
It was probably started by a group of kids from a nearby town, who walked into the woods and left a group of stuffed animals among the trees. Then some other kids not only discovered it but added to it, perhaps a few yards down the path, until you now have a couple hundred yards of pathway decorated with all these little angelic collections. I would describe it in more detail if I could but that would spoil the fun of the discovery.

Tuesday
As things clouded up and a bit of rain appeared, our plan for the day changed. The boat was supposed to move in the afternoon but we moved in the morning in stead. In the afternoon we visited a woolen mill chuck-loaded with colorful Scottish plaids, and then took a gondola ride up the Ben Nevis Mountain.
This gondola is used for the ski area in the winter but last week it was the transportation for the World Cup Downhill Mountain Biking Championships. The views from 2000 feet up are panoramic and spectacular, even as the clouds rolled in and out taking our view from panoramic to almost white-out.

Wednesday
We set sail in the morning, moved through another set of locks and arrived in Ft. Augustus around 10:00 AM. Ft. Augustus is a charming little town hugging the side of the Loch Ness. Its’ streets are lined with stone covered cottages and local inns with flower pots hanging on almost every porch. However, no monster sightings as of yet, but it’s early.
In the afternoon we took a beautiful one-hour drive to the Eilean Donan Castle. Eilean (pronounced Ellen) is Gaelic for island and Bishop Donan was one of the early settlers of the area. Hence the name.
This castle was built in the early 1300’s. It was destroyed a couple hundred years later, then rebuilt and destroyed a second time. Finally, in the 1930’s it was restored to its current glory. For all those years it has been in the MacRae family and continues to be today. There is a private apartment that the MacRae family uses from time to time and the banquet hall is available to rent for weddings.
This is probably the most photographed castle in all of Scotland and has been a location for several movies, including one James Bond film. It is furnished so you can see what life was like in those times. The kitchen is redone to a point that you get a very clear picture of what food preparation was like back then. Eilean Donan Castle is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Scotland.

Thursday
Its takes almost an hour to go through the four locks that take us 40 feet down to the level of Loch Ness. After lunch, we drove one-half hour to Urquhart Castle. This sits on the bank of Loch Ness and was built in the 1300’s it has been destroyed a couple times, the last time by its own inhabitants. It seems the area was being overtaken and they destroyed it so that the conquering enemy could not use it as a strong hold. Unlike Eilean Donan, It still sits in ruin to this day. But the gigantic trebouchet that sits on the front lawn is sure to delight every child with an imagination.
Returning to the barge, we visited a thrashing waterfall in Invermoriston.
Friday
Our trip is coming to a close. We cruised up the Loch Ness, but still no sightings of the Monster. This is the deepest Loch in the Highlands at nearly 1,000 feet, so there is plenty of room for a monster to hide. This afternoon we visited the 14th century Cawdor Castle famously associated with Macbeth. However this castle was built over 200 years after Macbeth reigned, but the castle owners let the association live in our minds. Unlike the other castles, this one is still inhabited. The dwellers move out each year during tourist season. The gardens here are ripe with bloom and cared for by eight full time gardeners. There is even a maze of holly in the garden. Spectacular! And local residents come to the castle in their own vintage costumes to play around with all of the visitors. It’s great fun to pretend you are a fighting soldier for a Scottish clan.
I’ve made an interesting observation throughout the area: I do not think we have seen a billboard since we arrived.
Motorcycles and bicycles leisurely roam along the windy, narrow roadways.