On Wednesday, we decided to explore some of the areas around Inverness. We started out at the Clava Cairns at Balnuaran of Clava, Bronze Age circular chambers with standing stones around them. Balnuaran of Clava is believed to be the inspiration for Craigh Na Dun in the Outlander series and most of the stones there are believed to have been placed over 4,000 years ago.
We left Balnuaran of Clava and drove to the small town of Rosemarkie, where we hiked up to the two Fairy Glen Falls and took some photos. It seemed like a really popular place for people to walk their dogs as we saw several along the trail. At the both of the falls there were “money trees” where people hammer coins into logs as an offering to the fairies, a tradition I was happy to take part in.
After making the return journey from the falls, we went looking for a place to eat. The sign at the Fairy Glen Falls had mentioned the Rosemarkie Beach Cafe, so we decided to go there. Dad and Mom said they had the best burgers of any of the burgers they ate in Scotland.
When we were finished eating, we walked along the beach a little bit before it started raining and we returned to the car. From there, we drove to a place called the Falls of Shin. A Scottish man Dad and Mom met at the Falls of Falloch along Loch Lomond had recommended it as salmon are known to jump up the waterfall. We were lucky enough to see several fish attempt (and many make) the jump up the falls.
We were exhausted from all of our hiking, so we ended up just eating McDonald’s for dinner in the heart of Inverness. I tried the cheese and herb melts which were really just like sad mozzarella sticks.
