Day 21,

in the morning,

we were up early, admiring the huge sideboard in the breakfast room,

for breakfast, smoked salmon with poached egg,

a fry-up,

or eggs Benedict,

started our day,

Kai's turn with the camera,

as I mentioned, the sideboard was huge,

we retrace our steps of yesterday driving along the shore of Loch Ness,

but this time continuing until we were in plain sight of Urquhart Castle,

one of the iconic sights of the Loch,

a quick photo call,

and a little history, the present ruins date from the 13th to the 16th centuries, though built on the site of an early medieval fortification, founded in the 13th century, Urquhart played a role in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century, it was subsequently held as a royal castle, and was raided on several occasions by the MacDonald Earls of Ross,

the castle was granted to the Clan Grant in 1509, though conflict with the MacDonalds continued, despite a series of further raids the castle was strengthened, only to be largely abandoned by the middle of the 17th century, Urquhart was partially destroyed in 1692 to prevent its use by Jacobite forces, and subsequently decayed, it is now one of the most-visited castles in Scotland,

 the castle, situated on a headland overlooking Loch Ness, is one of the largest in Scotland in area, the buildings of the castle were laid out around two main enclosures on the shore, the northern enclosure or Nether Bailey includes most of the more intact structures, including the gatehouse, and the five-story Grant Tower at the north end of the castle, the southern enclosure or Upper Bailey, sited on higher ground, comprises the scant remains of earlier buildings, and who were the Urquhart's? they were a Scottish clan still going strong today,

as we made our way along the Loch the skies cleared,

and we were treated to a rainbow,

we continued driving,

stopping every now and then to take a few photographs,

there was still plenty of snow on the mountain tops,

we were on our way here,

to the car park at the bottom of Ben Nevis,

it is the highest mountain in the British Isles,

 standing at 1,345 metres above sea level, but first a quick picture,

over the bridge,

across the fields,

and our climb begins,

the easy bit,

the path starts to get stepper,

Diana all smiles,

I was taking photographs, as I went,

of different lichens and plants,

the view behind us,

and some of the small streams from the melting snow,

along the path there were these white sacks, containing rocks that had been airlifted by helicopter for workers to use in making or repairing the pathway,

every few meters at times it seemed another small trickle of water made it's way downhill,

we were down there,

a stile to keep the sheep in the appropriate field,

it does not look it,

but it was getting quiet steep,

it was a cloudy and overcast day, but the sun did try to break through,

do not drink the water!

Diana takes a rest,

there are a few trees here but I guess the lack of nutrients makes growth slow,

the large rocks in the bags I am guessing will be used in places like this,

a look along the valley,

and a stand of silver birch,

the sun broke through the clouds again,

a sign post,

so we had to strike the pose,

one for the album,

blue skies! well a bit of it, we continued along the path for a few more hundred yards,

but for me it was now time for me to turn back, I knew I would not make it far, my knees were getting painful, it is something I have suffered from for many years, 

not so Steve, he has completed the Three Peaks Challenge, 

what is that? I hear you ask, as we make our way down hill, my knees getting worse with every step,

well the National Three Peaks Challenge involves climbing the three highest peaks of Scotland, England and Wales, the total walking distance is 23 miles (37km) and the total ascent is 3064 metres (10,052ft), the total driving distance is 462 miles,

well Steve has completed the challenge, but to complete the challenge properly all three peaks have to be climbed in just 24 hours! and be witness by independent judges, Steve's time? 23 hours and 30 minuets, he and his fellow group of runners with sponsorship handed over several thousands of pounds to the charities the group supports,

back over the river to the car park, the water crystal clear, but first we looked at the contour map of where we had been, Ben Nevis is 1,345 meters high, I made just 200!

in the car park a robin greeted us,

for our last night in Scotland,

we stayed at the Allt-na-Leven Guest House,

in Kinlochleven near Glencoe,

it was so nice,

after settling in we went for a walk,

the guest house is in the centre of Kinlochleven Village, in this picture on the right-hand side,

 the village has the mountains as a backdrop,

several guest houses,

back onto the River Leven,

like this pub,

 the river was full,

 with all of the melt water,

and was in full spate,

crossing the road,

we made our way,

to The Ice Factor, 

which is an indoor climbing center,

each alcove has a different set of hand holds and obstacles,

but this is what makes this building stand out,

it lays claim to being the largest indoor ice climbing wall in Europe, 

back across the bridge,

to The Tailrace Inn,

for a warm-up and a beer,

back at the guest house a quick pose, freshen up,

and we were out again for our evening meal,

to the Highland Gateway Inn,

just a few houses from where we were staying,

we each choose something different, scampi and chips,

macaroni cheeses and chips,

sweet and sour chicken,

and a Chinese style chicken curry,

a quick pose then eyes down and tuck in,

on to desserts, we all ordered sponge with custard,

or sticky toffee pudding, we were all so full,

reminding us of our stay in Finland,

a couple of huskies,

brought their owners along,

'give me food'

'and me!', with the exertions of the day we were all tired, so off to bed we went.