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It was past 3:30pm when we left Inverness on July 15, 2008. We drove along Loch Ness, Loch Lochy, Loch Linnhe, Loch Creran, and Firth of Lorn going to Oban. It was not at all a long drive from Inverness to Oban as we surely enjoyed it because of all the lochs that we passed by including the other lochs like Loch Dochfour, Loch Uunagan, and Loch Oich among others, and a few parts of Loch Leven and Loch Etive when crossing the bridges.

Most of these lochs formed the Caledonian Canal, a great waterway along the Great Glen. The Caledonian Canal is about 100 kilometers or 62 miles long stretching from Inverness to Fort William. About one-third of the canal is man-made. The man-made parts were done to connect the different natural lochs, Loch Dochfour, Loch Ness, Loch Oich, and Loch Lochy in which the Caledonian Canal was formed.

We drove along Loch Dochfour and Loch Ness via A82 highway from Inverness to Fort Augustus.

Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in Highlands, Scotland. Loch Ness is the largest loch in Scotland by water volume because of its depth with water volume of about 7.4 cubic kilometers or 1.8 cubic miles, Loch Lomond being the second with water volume of about 2.6 cubic kilometers or 0.62 cubic miles.

Loch Ness is the second largest loch in Scotland in surface area of about 56.4 square kilometers or 21.8 square miles, Loch Lomond being the largest with surface area of about 71 square kilometers or 27 square miles.

Loch Ness is the second deepest freshwater loch in Scotland with a maximum depth of 754 feet or 230 meters, Loch Morar being the deepest with a maximum depth of 1,017 feet or 310 meters. But Loch Ness has a mean or average depth of 430 feet or 132 meters compared to Loch Morar with a mean or average depth of 87 meters.

Loch Ness is located north of Inverness and about 9 miles from the city center of Inverness. Loch Ness is approximately about 37 kilometers or 23 miles long extending from Inverness Loch Ness Ferry Landing to Fort Augustus Ferry Landing. Loch Ness Ferry Landing is situated in between Lochend and Lairgmore. Fort Augustus Ferry Landing is situated in Fort Augustus which is located at the south west end of Loch Ness.

Loch Ness is well known for the alleged sightings of the Loch Ness monster known as “Nessie”. But it was revealed that the photo of Nessie called the “Surgeon’s photograph” was a fake. Whether it was a fake photo or not, whether the story about “Nessie” was true or not, the Loch Ness monster definitely became a tourist attraction of Loch Ness in Scotland.

After Loch Ness, we continued following A82 from Fort Augustus and passed by Loch Uunagan, Loch Oich, and Loch Lochy to Fort William.

Loch Lochy is a large freshwater loch in Lochaber, Highlands, Scotland. Loch Lochy is the third deepest loch in Scotland with a mean or average depth of 70 meters compared to Loch Morar with 87 meters, and Loch Ness with 132 meters.

Loch Lochy is the fourth deepest loch if measured by maximum depth with a maximum depth of 162 meters compared to Loch Lomond with 190 meters, Loch Ness with 230 meters, and Loch Morar with 310 meters, said to be the deepest freshwater loch not only in Scotland but in British Isles as well. Loch Lochy is about 15 kilometers long extending from Laggan Locks to Gairlochy.

Regarding loch monster, it is reputed that there is another monster similar to Loch Ness monster living in Loch Lochy. The so-called monster is supposed to be a three-humped, plesiosaur-like creature known as “Lizzie”.

After Loch Lochy, we continued following A82 up to Fort William which is located at the shores of Loch Linnhe and Loch Eil.

Loch Linnhe is a sea loch in Scotland which opens onto the Firth of Lorn at its south-western end. Loch Linnhe is about 15 kilometers or 9.3 miles long extending from Fort William to Appin, Port Appin, and Lynne of Lorn up to Firth of Lorn, being that Loch Linnhe is connected to the Firth of Lorn.

Along the Loch Linnhe, we followed A82 from Fort William up to North Ballachulish. When we arrived in North Ballachulish, we crossed the bridge on Loch Linnhe and Loch Leven just before Lettermore following the main road A828. We continued following A828 passing by Appin and then Creagan which is along Loch Creran.

Loch Creran is another sea loch in Scotland which is also connected to Loch Linnhe and the Firth of Lorn. Loch Creran is about 10 kilometers or 6.2 miles long extending from Glasdrum to North and South Shian up to the Lynne of Lorn which is a part of Loch Linnhe. Firth of Lorn is a body of water on the west coast of Scotland in Argyll and Bute region.

We continued our travel until North Connel where we crossed another bridge on Loch Linnhe and Loch Etive going to Connel. From Connel we followed A85 highway going to Oban. It was past 6:00pm when we arrived in Oban, region of Argyll and Bute in Scotland.

We only stopped and took some photos along Loch Ness. We did make any more stops in the other lochs so the photos other than the ones in Loch Ness were taken from inside the car when traveling from Inverness to Oban.

Updated on October 21, 2009

Links to Our Scotland Golf Vacation in Summer 2008
Scotland Golf Vacation in Summer 2008
Scottish Borders Tourist Route to Edinburgh
First Day, Edinburgh City, Scotland
Second Day, Edinburgh, Scotland
St. Andrews, The Home of Golf
Scotland’s Malt Whisky Trail
Inverness, the Mouth of the River Ness in Scotland
Scotland Lochs: Loch Ness, Loch Lochy, Loch Linnhe, Loch Creran
Oban, The Little Bay in Scotland Trip
Inveraray Castle, Inveraray, Scotland Side Trip
Hawick, Scottish Borders, Scotland Trip
Colchester, Essex, England Side Trip
Leeds Castle, Maidstone, Kent, England Side Trip

Related Links:
Loch Ness
Loch, in Wikipedia
Loch Ness Monster, in Wikipedia
Lake Monsters, in Wikipedia
Great Glen, in Wikipedia
Caledonian Canal, in Wikipedia
Firth of Lorn, in Wikipedia