19 91´óÉñ 2018
A group of MSc IBEM students went on a day trip to Glencoe and Loch Ness, which included the ruins of the 16th century fortress of Urquhart Castle.
It rained quite a bit, but that didn’t stop us from having a lot of fun as we drove through the wonderful Scottish countryside. It was nice being on the bus together and chatting and learning more about each other’s backgrounds. Our first stop was to see a Highland cow and get some coffee. The highland cows are hairy, have massive horns and are completely undeterred by the rain. They are tough characters and great subjects for photos!
After some driving, , also known as the Weeping Glen. It is the site of the infamous massacre of 1692 and it is said that if your surname is Campbell, they don’t allow you to stay in certain hotels in the village because they resent the murderous name of the Campbell family for massacring the hospitable McDonald clan.
are beautiful and some parts are very rugged. I enjoyed the rolling hills and misty peaks with bright green grass and rivers winding their way into large lochs. It was pouring with rain when we stopped so we jumped out and experienced horizontal rain! It was pretty heavy but we managed to take a quick photo and before heading back to the bus.
From there we headed to for lunch and then on to to explore the ruins. We were treated to a lovely afternoon of sunshine and a rainbow and were able to enjoy searchin for Nessy on the shore of the mighty —but she was as elusive as ever. The castle itself was built in the 13th to 16th centuries and was partially destroyed in 1692 by the Jacobite forces.
The highlight of the trip was a 35 minute cruise to the top of the Loch, which was so beautiful and soothing. Loch Ness is 37 km long and has exceptionally low water visibility due to its high peat content. It is the second largest Scottish loch at 56 km2 and its deepest point is 230m / 755ft, making it the largest in the British Isles by volume!
After our lovely sunset cruise, we had a 3 hour bus ride back to Edinburgh during which we all dozed on and off after a busy day!
Natasha, MSc International Business and Emerging Markets