Pictures are here.

We were up bright and early to catch the 8-9 breakfast and the 10am checkout. Most of the people in the hostel were older or with families. We left our bags in the library and set off to the “hiking” trails near the castle. Brian was feeling tired, so we decided to try the short walk and continue on the long walk if he was feeling better. We ended up completing the long walk (2.5 miles) with plenty of time before our train – 3 hours actually. We ate our packed lunches at the hostel – including smoky bacon and roast chicken potato chips – they were good. When it got too cold (this was on top of a hill, with lots of wind), we made our way down to the train station were we just read, slept and waited for our train.

The hike took us all around the area, and we had a small snack at a still pond where there were lots of tadpoles. There was a lot of water running along the trail, and I think we both took way too many pictures of waterfalls.

Our train arrived on time, and we boarded to a practically empty train. The train ride was pretty uneventful, but we did see the large distilleries of Glen Morangie and Glen Ord with lots of warehouses and barrels near the train tracks.

Upon arriving in Inverness, we checked into our hostel and ate at the local Castle Tavern restaurant. The restaurant had excellent food, and a wide selection of whiskeys. Brian had one called Springbank that he really enjoyed. It was one that neither of us had ever seen in the states.

Afterwards, we waited at the tourist office for the 7pm Davy’s Ghost Tour. There were three other people there about our age from South Africa. The tour was hilarious and entertaining, although most of the information he gave us was a repeat of what we had learned on the Edinburgh ghost tour. The tour ended with a great picture, and a free beer at a local haunted pub – Hootenanny’s. And the beer? A Budweiser.

We sat down at a table with the guys from South Africa – Jason, Mark, and Travis – and continued to buy rounds of drinks until after midnight. Everyone was pretty gone by the time we left. Luckily, I had switched to water halfway through the night. Brian needed some extra help getting to the hostel and his room. The person on duty when we came home commented on it. But we got home safely, and into bed without making too much noise.