THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS

LaShon's Highlights:

We cruise along Loch Ness. No sighting of Nessie! Eventually we see the ruins of Urquhart Castle on the shore.
What could be better than puppies and lambs? Neil and his dogs were impressive! This is a man who cares deeply for his animals.

Emily:

I probably said this at some point every day, but one of our activities today was one of my favorites of the trip. We visited a working sheep farm run by Neil Ross, who took it over from his father before him. We got a lot of great information about what it takes to run a sheep farm today, and the care with which he takes care of all his animals. Seeing a demonstration of actual working sheepdogs was super impressive. Each dog has individualized commands, and Neil can have multiple dogs doing different things all at the same time. Then we got to cuddle some baby sheep and even younger sheepdog puppies! We all joked that we wanted to sneak a puppy back onto the tour bus with us.

After leaving the sheep farm we headed to Loch Ness! The cheesy side of me absolutely loved this and was on the lookout for a monster under the water. We got on a boat and enjoyed the scenery and some monster searching as we headed across the Loch to Urquhart Castle. After a tour of the castle we were on our way to the beautiful city of Inverness, where we would stay for the next two nights.

Clockwise from upper left: Neil Ross with his sheep, LaShon with a puppy, herding sheep, touring Urquhart Castle, a view from Loch Ness, and a tower portion of Urquhart Castle.

Above: Emily with a lamb.