Exploring Scotland 1 Castle at a Time, Part 26, Urquhart Castle
I know that Eilean Donan is the most photographed castle in Scotland but I believe Urquhart Castle probably comes in a close second. It was packed the day we went and I had to break my rule about not taking pictures of people in order to photograph it. Perched atop a jutting finger of land that points out into Loch Ness, it triggers thoughts of romance, scorcery, and of course Nessie. I did look for Nessie. I just couldn’t resist. But I have to say, if she's there, she's picked the pretties loch in Scotland in which to reside. The water was so blue it hurt to look at it. It is thought that St. Columba stayed at Urquhart Castle on his way to Inverness. Of course at that time, around 600, the castle would have been a Pictish fort. This is a Trebucket, a medieval catapult, created to fling the stone balls you see lined up behind it at the walls of the castle and anyone within. The precise time the castle was built isn’t known but it is believed that the Durwar...