Urquhart Castle on a calm day – Inktense, Ink and Watercolour on a Watercolour Moleskine

This ruined structure sits on the shores of Loch Ness. The castle has a bloody history. It changed hands a number of times during the English wars in the late 1200′s to the early 1300′s. Later on King Robert (The Bruce) laid claim to it. In later years it was fought over by many clans. Today it is the centre of visitor attention being one of Scotland’s most visited places – probably by folk trying to spot a “fictitious monster” in the 600ft deep waters. “A calm day” is a rare thing in this part of the world. The deep waters, surrounded by the high mountains, forming “The Great Glen” mean that channelled high winds can cause sudden storms and care must be taken by those in boats. As to monsters – I would be the first to pour scorn on the “Nessie” myth since all of the “sightings” are probably dark shadows, on the loch, caused by the unpredictable weather. If visitors want REAL monsters they should look no further than Loch Morar, for a nautical creature or in the Cairngorms where Ben Macdhui, one of our highest peaks, is said to be haunted by Fear Liath Mhor – the Grey man.
This is the first attempt in, yet another, Moleskine. My house is becoming fair infested wi’ these things.