BLOG 6: From Edinburgh to Loch Ness

After the days in Edinburgh, going north we cross the newest of the three bridges 'Queensferry Crossing' over the Firth of Forth. We stay with bridges - heading to Dundee and the Tay Rail Bridge. The catastrophic collapse of the first bridge on December 28, 1879 - only one year after completion - was taken by the German poet Theodor Fontane in 1880 in his mythical ballad 'Die Brück' am Tay'. The causes of the collapse in a hurricane under an express train with 75 dead are easily explained: technical incompetence, sloppiness in the manufacture of the cast-iron (!) bridge elements and ignorance of clear warning signals. From 1883 to 1887 the bridge, which is still used today, was built practically in the same place . We continue on side roads into the Cairngorms National Park - a rather lonely and rough area. From Ballater we visit the royal castle of Balmoral and the whiskey distillery Royal Lochnagar, which is not too far away, by e-bike. The visit to the castle is a bit disappointing, on the one hand King Charles is not there to welcome us and on the other hand you can only visit the so-called 'ballroom' inside the castle, a rather puny room, only with a few pictures from history endowed by the royal family. For this, Charles has parts of the garden redesigned according to esoteric ideas....

The bike ride takes us through the idyllic valley of the Dee, past sheep and cattle etc.

The further journey - again on secondary roads - takes us through the northern Cairngorms over the narrow and pointed Gairnshiel Bridge past the austere Corgarff Castle - in the 18th century a garrison fortress for the suppression of the Jacobites.

The installation 'The Still Viewpoint' by the artist Angus Ritchie above Tormintoul offers the photographer exciting possibilities with its mirroring.

Passing Inverness - only a short stop at the TESCO Supermarket takes you to Loch Ness. Nessie doesn't want to show herself to us and the complicated but necessary visit slot bookings on the internet - including for a car park - for Urquhart Castle make us refrain from visiting there.