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The Castles of Scotland: Part 4
Inverlochy
Continuing across the countryside, I kept thinking that it was no wonder that people thought this glorious, clean, often craggy and wind-swept country was so magnificent. There is a rare sense of peace and space, combined with the feeling that this was one of the few marvelous corners of the earth that mankind had not yet managed to pollute, contaminate, over-populate or screw up in any other way. May it always stay that way!
Continuing along the A9 to Dalwhinnie, and branching on to the A889, then turning left along the A86 towards Fort William, we found Inverlochy Castle near Spear Bridge.
What a delightful place this was! Another stunningly regal Relais & Chateaux, this Castle-turned-boutique hotel is set in 500 acres of gardens and grounds, with snow-capped Ben Nevis as a backdrop, and the waters of its Loch as a foreground.
Here, once again, is a leading Scottish family's ex-home turned into a magnificent, very upmarket and exclusive hotel with only 17 lavishly elegant suites. It's the sort of place that is filled with romance. No wonder the British social and industrial aristocracy use this as a watering-hole when traveling with their wives, and some Western European non-British equivalents find it an equally attractive but far-enough-away place to weekend with their mistresses in the same way as similarly inclined Brits head for places like Portofino!
From here we drove across the Spear Bridge to Invergarry, turned right along the A76, then left to Stromeferry to wind our way along the magnificent Loch water to head up to the A896. This is country so wild that, if it was any wilder you'd be afraid of getting bitten by it. Some, like yours truly do, and find it's a love bite!
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