Cottage Diary - Aspenwood self catering luxury Holiday Cottage overlooking Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland.

After a chilly night full of stars the day dawned with a clear blue sky and a walk beckoned. We drove past Inverarnie and parked on the right at Littlemill Woods. In these woods are the recently opened Inverarnie Esker Trails. There are three walks of varying distances that are well signed and the views at the top were well worth the climb. Along the trails were relevant information signs and we learnt alot as we strolled along. Apparently 'esker' means a ridge formed as a result of streams running under glaciers when The Great Glen was one giant glacier during the Ice Age. These ridges can still be seen quite clearly today.We passed several bodies of water which we initially thought to be wee lochs, but on reading the information signs we learnt that they were technically 'kettle holes'. These were formed when blocks of ice,left by glaciers,are buried under sand and gravel. When the ice finally melts, the sand and gravel on top collapse into the hole to form a hollow - or kettle hole - which then fills up with water.