The weekend was a busy dog-showing time for me with Saturday being in Edinburgh and Sunday in Fort William. The Sunday show entailed a 2 hour journey through another scenic part of the Highlands. This was along Loch Laggan in Inverness-shire, well known to many as the setting for the TV series, Monarch of The Glen, with Ardverikie House used as the ficticious Glenbogle House. It sits on the shore of Loch Laggan but can only be reached by a private road up the opposite side of the loch from the public road from Newtonmore to Spean Bridge. I had to climb over the traffic barrier and slither down a steep gravelly bank to the rocks at the edge of the loch in order to get a clear view of the house and even then I had to stoop down to almost water level to see through the hanging branches of the silver birches to take the photograph. Also included is a picture of the little lodge house, a turreted, miniature castle, at the start of the estate road. The main house appears to be undergoing renovations at the moment judging by the scaffolding round part of the building.

The western end of the loch has been damned, where it runs into the River Spean, and the hydro electricity produced from the water flow from this is used to operate the aluminium works near Fort William. The water is diverted to Loch Treig and then flows through a tunnel to come out part way up Ben Nevis then down through pipes, easily seen from the road leading to the town, to the smelter.
To see some other parts of the world and their stories click here.