Travel for Kids: Inverness, Scotland



Scotland		\| The Highlands

		Inverness


			Loch Ness – If you're going to do one thing in Inverness, it's take the kids on a boat ride down Loch Ness to look for Nessie. The legends of the Loch Ness Monster go back aways. The oldest legend, from 565 AD, concerns St.Columba. One of his disciples was swimming across the lake, when the monster rose up "with a great roar and open mouth." St. Columba commanded Nessie to drop the guy, "Think not to go further, nor touch thou that man. Quick, go back" and Nessie obeyed. These days Nessie may not put in an appearance, but you'll have a great afternoon cruising this lovely loch.

			Official Loch Ness Exhibition Centre (Drumnadrochit) – In this fascinating multimedia exhibition, you'll hear about different legends of Nessie, and scientific research to get to the bottom of this mystery. This very long, very cold, deep lake has been studied by expeditions in small submarines and by sonar detection. The very geology of the lake sets the scene for legends of the very elusive creature, thought to be a dragon in ancient times, and more recently, a plesiosaur.

			Urquhart Castle – On the edge of the Loch Ness sits the ruins of Urquhart castle. It hasn't crumbled all on its own – part of it was blown up in 1692. Don't be surprised if you hear a bagpiper piping tunes that evoke the ghosts of clans past – he's real. You can run up and down the grassy ruined rooms or just sit peacefully on the stone ramparts, watching the wind ruffle waves on Loch Ness.

			Walk along the River Ness – The River Ness is a wonderful spot for a stroll through town, with views of Inverness Castle on the hill. Next the river, there's a small cemetary, Chapel Street Cemetary, with old gravestones and interesting inscriptions.

			Dolphin watching on Moray Firth – Take a cruise along the Moray Firth to look for bottle nosed dolphins. Along with dolphins, you'll see seals, porpoises, and sea birds such as osprey and terns.

			Around Inverness


			Fun food –

			If your kids like salmon, we had the best Scotch smoked salmon, for lunch, for tea, for dinner. Also, shortbreads, scones and other pastries are delicious. Also, when you see it on the menu, try the Clootie Dumpling pudding. It's "sort of like a sponge pudding with raisins and currants in it. You mix all the ingredients in a batter, put them in a cloth (cloot) and steam the whole thing. When it's done, you slice it, and eat it with hot custard."

			Shopping –

			Lots of fun things to buy, including the ever popular tam o'shanter in various plaids, silvery jewelry, clan insignia, sweaters, and bright green Nessies. Bring home CDs of Scottish music.

The Mystery of the Loch Ness Monster
Holly Wallace

An excellent packed-with-goodies history of the Loch Ness Monster – the legends, eyewitness accounts, photographs, famous fakes and scientific studies. Fun for all ages. (Chapter book, illustrations)

The Loch Ness Monster
Peggy J. Parks

Get the scoop on Nessie, Scotland's legendary monster – early stories, eyewitness reports, the famous photograph – fact or fiction, theories and hoaxes. Cool computer-generated illustrations of how Nessie might look. (Chapter book)

The Boggart and the Monster
Susan Cooper

Jessup and his sister Emily return to Castle Keep, and the Boggart, a playful spirit, is still up his old tricks. The kids join forces with the Boggart to help Nessie escape from Loch Ness. (Chapter book)

The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster
A.W. Flaherty, Scott Magoon

Delightful tale of the Loch Ness monster, and a little girl who doesn’t like to eat her oatmeal, the national breakfast food of Scotland. Just how did Nessie arrive in Loch Ness, and what are the children of Loch Ness secretly tossing into the lake? A whimsical, original story! (Picture book)

The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster - kids books Scotland

The Water Horse
Dick King-Smith

Two kids find a strange egg on the beach, and when it hatches, they hide it in the bathtub. But their grandfather knows the little beastie is going to grow quite large, too large for a bathtub, the goldfish pond, even the local loch. A funny, warm-hearted Loch Ness monster adventure from author Dick King-Smith. (Chapter book)

(More children's books on other Scotland pages)

travel for kids | scotland | the highlands | inverness

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