Loch Ness & Urquhart Castle - Scotland

Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch (lake) in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately 23 miles southwest of Inverness. Its surface is 52 feet above sea level. It is known as the home of the Loch Ness Monster (also known as "Nessie"), the most famous cryptid in all the world. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next. Loch Ness by Jacobite provides daily tours. Urquhart Castle is sited on Strone Point, a triangular promontory on the north-western shore of Loch Ness, and commands the route along this side of the Great Glen as well as the entrance to Glen Urquhart. 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.