Mealfuarvonie is the highest hill around Loch Ness. It rises 700m straight up from the shores of the loch and the views from the summit on a clear day are fantastic. You can see east to the Moray Firth, west to Ben Nevis, north to the mountains of Glen Affric and of course directly across the loch Inverfarigaig and Hazelgrove! Today my friend and I took the opportunity of good cold winter conditions to run up and down the hill starting at the loch side!  When I say run, probably stagger is a better word to use in my case  - there was plenty snow and ice to contend with and near the summit  it gets quite steep ! However it was worth all the effort although due to the cold we did not hang around long  at the top. Here are a couple of photos that I took which I think convey the cold and space!

Great news announced recently by the Scottish Government. They are to invest an extra £3.9m in the cycling infrastructure of the country over the next two years and the bulk of it will go towards completion of the National Cycle Route between Oban and Inverness. In recent years this massive project seemed to had stalled just north of Fort William but now at last it seems it will advance quickly up the Great Glen and the south side of Loch Ness to Inverness creating a truly iconic cycle way for the Highlands. 

Some may question its worth, that it will only be used by a few tourists, that the money could better be spent in the Central belt of Scotland etc . But, tourism (along with renewables) is the lifeblood of the Highland economy and it is fundemental to the sustainability of the area that it gets the  investment it requires. The popularity of cycling is growing rapidly in the Highlands and the Scottish government should be congratulated for making this, albeit contraversial, decision!
 The photo above is of Loch Tarff, high above Loch Ness and along side which the route will pass.

Happy New Year to everyone and what better way to start the year than to hear that the US news channel CNN has named Scotland as the number 1 tourist destination in the world to visit in 2013! Scotland emerged at the top of the world travel destinations list, ahead of six others including Rabat in Morocco, Colombia and Amsterdam. CNN says it reached its decision after accounting for factors such as bargains, significant events and airline routes and of course the scenery. So, if you are still undecided about where to go on holiday this year, think no further and come to Scotland , perhaps even to Hazelgrove on Loch Ness...