Our tour bus, as we drove toward Urquhart Castle.

Urquhart Castle,
standing sentry at the mid point of the long & narrow Loch Ness.

Map of the Urquhart Castle ground.

Urquhart Castle is located at about the mid point of the long and narrow Loch Ness.

Loch Ness viewed from the castle ground.
The boat dock was a little bit to the left of this picture.

Boarding our lake-cruise boat.

With dark and low clouds, the lake looked misty and foggy,
no wonder people in the old days thought a lake monster lived under this dark water.

A lake-side mansion.

After 60 minutes, we reached this river lock.
This was where our cruise ended.
The boat would turn around and sail back to the castle.

People waiting to board the boat to sail to Urquhart Castle.

Our amiable tour guide.
She treated everyone to Scotish short bread cookies.

A short bus-ride later, we reached the city of Inverness.
As we walked from our bus parking lot to downtown,
we could see this Inverness Castle on a cliff overlooking River Ness.

Walked across this bridge to downtown Inverness.

We were given 60 minutes to have lunch and see downtown Inverness!!
Therefore, a few of us ate at this McDonald's,
for its fast service and clean bathroom.

After lunch, our bus headed toward the Culloden Battlefield.

But we stopped at the Clava Cairns first,
which is an ancient burial ground.

Culloden Battlefield.
Our tour guide walked the group to the battlefield,
but the two of us opted to stay in the visitors' center.
This is our picture of the field outside the Visitors Center.

Cawdor Castle.
One of the distinctions of this castle (from many other castles) is that
this castle is still being lived in. The Dowager Countess still lives here.

A room with portraits of former male ruler-of-the-house.

A beautiful tapestry on the wall.

Another room with portraits of former lady-of-the-house. 

A very modern and feminine bedroom.

A gentlemen's after-dinner room?