Monday, June 24, 2013

Inverness, Scotland

Our last two days in Scotland are being spent in a place full of legends and folk tales.  Miss Crumrine has been excited about this stop for a long time! As we were planning the trip, Miss Crumrine insisted we stop at Inverness, so, that's what we're doing! 

Before we post about our visit and what sites we explored, let me share a little about Inverness with you.


-  Inverness is known as the capital of the Scottish Highlands.

- In the 12th century, King David I made Inverness a royal burgh (town) and it soon developed into a busy town and port, trading in everything from fish and furs to timber and wool. A castle was built here and, later on, a bridge was built over the River Ness.

-  In 1822, the Caledonian Canal was built which helped bring trading business to Inverness.  It connected the small town with Western Scotland by providing a safe passage for ships to sail.

- Loch Ness is the largest lake in Scotland.  It has as much water as all the other lakes in Scotland put together.  It's 23 miles long.  It's so deep and cold that it doesn't allow many different kinds of animals to live there.  

We visited the Loch Ness center to learn a little more About local legends and stories on the monster.  It turned out to be quite the exhibit, explaining a lot about geology and science exhibitions, the food chains in the lake, and local stories about the monster.  The best explanation we understood was- there are many different currents that run through the lake due to it's size.  These currents move different kinds of debris which from a distance can look like a strange creature.  We also found out there were several times a person made a picture look real when it wasn't!  We took some pictures of our own to show you just how easily other things, like kayakers and logs, can make you think you're looking at something different. 


Brainiac Question  What is one story about the Loch Ness monster?

Research Links:
Stories about the Loch Ness Monster
National Geographic Facts


Brainiac Question. What are things that help make the Highlands of Scotland different from the lowlands?

Research Link:
Culture in the Highlands






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