06/23/2026: Invergordon

Our port today is Invergordon, so-called gateway to the Highlands. We’re not far from Inverness, which is the more popular town in this part of Scotland. Invergordon lies on the Cromarty Firth. A firth is an elongated sea arm. There is a very deep harbor here in Invergordon. The British Navy had a naval base here during the World Wars. It is also a place where North Sea oil rigs come for repair.

The area around Invergordon is sort of a cross between the landscapes of Orkney and Skye. We see both rolling hills with barley farms and mountains in the distance. We docked at Saltburn Pier, which is a pier extending a mile into the firth.

Our excursion today was to Loch Ness and the Urquhart Castle. We had an hour bus ride through several small villages and lovely farmland. Barley is the cash crop, but we saw potato fields and lots of livestock.

Of course, Loch Ness is a very famous, popular tourist area. The loch is beautiful. It is about 23 miles long and has a depth of over 700 feet at its deepest point. And no, we didn’t see Nessie, the Loch Ness monster.

One of the big attractions is the Urquhart Castle. Once one of Scotland’s largest castles, Urquhart saw great conflict during its 500 years as a medieval fortress. Control of the castle passed back and forth between the Scots and English during the Wars of Independence. The power struggles continued, as the Lords of the Isles regularly raided both castle and glen up until the 1500s. The last of the government troops garrisoned here during the Jacobite Risings blew up the castle when they left in 1692.

After our walk around the castle ruins, we boarded a boat for a tour of Loch Ness. It was a lovely day weather-wise as we’ve apparently brought warmer temperatures and sunny skies for most of our trip. The tour guide told quite a story of the Wellington Bomber that made a ditch landing on the loch after experiencing engine trouble during a training mission on New Year’s Eve 1939. The plane sank to the bottom of the loch and stayed there for nearly 50 years. It was recovered from the bottom in 1985. The plane was largely intact. The composition of the loch water essentially protected it from rust. Personal effects of the crew were still in the plane. The pilot had ordered the 6 crew members to parachute out. All the crew, except for the gunner whose parachute did not deploy, survived. Both pilots survived after landing the plane on the loch. The plane is now in a museum near Surrey, England.

After our boat ride around the loch, we were bussed back to the ship. There was some hold up because only one vehicle at a time can drive the Saltburn Pier since it’s only one lane wide, so we had to wait for a shuttle bus to come back out. It takes some skill for the bus drivers to turn their bus around at the end of the pier.

We enjoyed dinner from the Star Grill and sat in the Yacht Club to eat, which has been a great spot. It’s quiet and we get great views around both sides of the ship.

After dinner, a local group came on board to entertain us. There were 4 young dancers, a bagpiper, an accordion player and a singer. It was great fun watching and listening to Scottish music and dance.

Then it was an Olivia classic, the Newlywed/Oldywed game. It’s a takeoff of the game show that was on TV in the 60s and 70s. There were 2 couples who were new in their relationship and 2 who had been together a long time. Vickie Shaw was the emcee.She’s a hoot! Some of the questions were a bit embarrassing, and of course, the audience roared with laughter at some of the answers and the discomfort of the contestants. But it was all in good fun.

Tomorrow is our last day on ship. It is a day at sea, so there won’t be anything to report. We’re docking in Dundee Wednesday night. Early Thursday we disembark. We signed up for a short trip to St. Andrews for a walking tour of the old city. Then we’ll be bussed to Edinburgh where we’ll get a taxi to our hotel. We’re in Edinburgh from Thursday to Monday when we’ll fly to NYC.