Inverness

Inverness is the capital of the Highlands.  It stands for mouth of the  River Ness.  So kind of a city day here which was a nice change of pace.  I say kind of because it is not a big place – we walked everywhere.  We stayed in another small bed and breakfast – Moyness House which was quite nice.  It too is an old house that has been very well maintained.  John the proprietor gave some nice recommendations on restaurants and tried to get us a taxi out to a castle and a distillery, but no luck.  We were also out of luck with the tour companies.  We weren’t really that disappointed since there was plenty to do in town.

Look for where we have been and are now, next stop Thurso and Orkney Islands

Our first afternoon we did a little walk around to check out the restaurant recommendations we had received and one was booked for both nights we were in town, another was of no interest to us and the 3^rd was full for that night but open for the second so one dinner figured out!  At the end of the road was a neat looking old building that turned out to be another dinner recommendation – Old Castle Tavern.  It was quite busy but we got lucky and snagged the only open table.  They warned us food would be awhile but we could have a drink immediately so a drink we had and then food.  After that a leisurly walk back to the B and B to plan our next day.

After another multi-course breakfast, we headed out the door and down the street towards the river.  We passed an old church we had seen yesterday and were surprised to see buses everywhere – like 6 of them.  Weird. There is a big field behind the church – maybe a meeting?? Went into the church which was actually a cathedral.  Very pretty inside.  Nice stained glass and the ceiling was wood with carving in it.

The ceiling was adorned with a multitude of these carved panels

From there the plan was to walk along the river till we got to the botanical garden.  Both sides of the river have nice wide walkways and you see lots of people walking and running along it.  Inverness has embraced the river with buildings looking out onto it and little stopping points.  We got to the botanical gardens which is right by the pitch for the rugby team.  I suspect it is a professional team of some level because it was a very nice stadium with seating and parking, etc. 

We headed into the botanical garden and promptly got a little nostalgic for a garden to maintain.  There is a tropical gardens in a greenhouse that we first wandered into and then just the gardens themselves.  It is not a very large garden but they have some nice spots.  Saw some pretty rhododendrons in bloom and  more getting close to bloom.  There were some unusual trees - kind of like a paper bark but the bark was reddish brown not white.  Like many gardens they had an area with vegetables, etc. which included espaliered apple trees as low hedges for the different sections.

From the botanical gardens we went a couple of hundred yards to the Caledonian Canal.  It was built in 1820 (think) and goes the entire width of Scotland.  We wandered it for just a little while and then sat on a bench for a few minutes too.  Like all of Scotland we had several dogs pass us as they were out for walks and play.  Many, many spaniels making us miss our spaniels.  I think I may come here to get an English Cocker Spaniel in the future!  This canal splits the great glen which is a great valley.  Surprisingly the canal is on or close to a earthquake fault line.

There are bike tours between Inverness and Fort Williams

From the canal we backtracked a little bit to the river way and retraced our steps until we got to the suspension bridge over to the Ness Islands in the middle of the river.  The islands are like a nice big park in the middle of the city.  They have strung up decorative lights in addition to the street lights in it and there are several park benches that are quite decorative.  Oh someone turned an old washed up tree into a dragon too.  At the end of the islands we walked to a café on the edge of the river and enjoyed a snack with a view.

After our break the plan was to visit the old castle, art museum and a little window shopping.  Well problem with that plan.  We had noticed some wood fencing up around the castle but assumed there was still an entrance so we could go up to the top for the view as all the tour books recommend.  Um no we weren’t.  The whole place is closed for a renovation since it is normally a court building too not sure where they are hosting court cases these days!  Oh well the Inverness History and Art Museum was right there so in we went.  The museum talks about how the Highlands land and people have changed from prehistoric times to now.  We got some history lessons and information we had been hearing better explained.  It is a nice little museum.  Off to do a little window shopping – purse hunting and art gallery viewing.  Found some work we liked and may try to track down in the States (no shipping or hauling it around) but no purse yet.

Victorian Market

Back to the B and B for a break before dinner.  We had met another American couple at breakfast and they were hanging out in the drawing room so we joined them.  Then in a little bit John the proprietor came in and said since we had been there for more than 1 day we qualified for a wee dram of whisky – would we like some Glenlivet.  Um yes please.  It was nice – made me realize how much better it was (smoother) than what we had from the Nevis distillery.  Then off to a nice dinner at Café One.

Next morning window shopping on the way to the train station.  I got a small present for a friend and saw a store that sold the Harris tweed fabric by the yard and went in, but had a reality check.  I had 15 minutes or so and while not a huge stash of Harris Tweed fabric at the store enough that I would want to hem and haw and think about what I would make – little make up bag or more of a real purse.  So out of there I got and the train station we went!  Hnm I think I am starting to talk like a Scotsman!