Inverness

Inverness is the capital of the Scottish highlands. It was made a city in 2000 - beating Preston by two years! It is at the northeast end of the Caledonian Canal, which follows the the Great Glen.

Loch Ness empties into the Beauly Forth via the River Ness, which flows through the city. The river is less than seven miles long, but has one of the highest flows in the country at 300 m³/s. It gives its name to the city - Inverness means mouth of the River Ness.

The River

So let us start at the river mouth! This is the Kessock Bridge, which spans the Beauly Firth, and was built in 1982, taking the A9 into the Highlands beyond Inverness.

On the far side is the Black Isle, which is neither black nor an island. To the right is the Moray Firth, while Inverness is behind us.

The bridge is notable as the only one in Britain that is proofed against earthquake. Inverness experiences an earthquake about every three years, mostly unnoticed, as the Black Isle, and indeed northwest Scotland, heads slowly to the left.

You can walk into the city more-or-less beside the river, but there is little of interest and much of the actual riverside is not accessible as it is a working port. There is however Cromwell's tower.

Cromwell built a citadel to house a thousand men here, but that was destroyed at the Restoration. This tower is from a hemp cloth factory built around 1765 on the site.

This is our first proper view of the river, and is looking upstream, at the railway bridge.

Greig Street Bridge is just for pedestrians; there is a noticeable bounce in the deck as you walk across. This is from the west back, looking at (from the left) the Old High Church and the Free Church of Scotland.

Another view from just past the bridge, showing the Free Church of Scotland more clearly.

And a better view of the Old High Church. This is the oldest building in Inverness, the tower being medieval. There was been a Christian church on the site since the Celts.

This is the view from the other side of Grieg Street Bridge looking back down the river. Obviously this was taken a little later in the day!

Ness Bridge has been illuminated, I guess, to show support to Ukraine. The pub on the corner is the Glenalbyn. Like most of the pubs we visited in Scotland, this felt like a very tradition pub, and not necessarily in a good way.

Looking down river from Ness Bridge.

Looking upstream, at the cathedral.

And so we arrive at the cathedral. The two towers look rather truncated - this is because they ran out of money and the planned spires never got built.

From near the cathedral, the view across the river, with the castle and Ness Bank Church.

The last bridge we saw was Infirmary Bridge, and it was just as bouncing as Grieg Street Bridge!

Academy Street

Parallel to the river, but set back a bit is Academy Street. At the north end is the Academy for Performing Arts. I wonder if this building, in an earlier life as a more conventional academy, a gives the street its name?

To the right is Blackfriars, another traditional pub, but in a more positive sense.

And opposite, the Phoenix. The pub and La Le restaurant are actually one place - it is the same toilets for both. The restaurant looked really upmarket; the pub, not so much...

The entrance to the Victorian Market. Inside is more of an arcade than a market; the street food eating area was great.

The south end of Academy Street passes the station, the turns left round an attractive, modern square, featuring the National Memorial of Scotland.

Bridge Street and High Street

Rather than follow Academy Street as it curves away, we will head a very short way down Inglis Street, and hence to the High Street.

Bridge Street leads up from the river, very quickly becoming High Street. While the High Street is pedestrianised, Bridge Street is usually a busy road. However, a sink hole had opened in it, and the road was closed while we were there.

Behind the roadworks is the Steeple, built ca. 1790 together with a courthouse and prison that were both demolished in 1853.

The Caledonia pub is an impressive neo-classic building, suggesting it used to be a bank. Nice inside too, but finding the toilets was quite the adventure!

On the other side is the town hall, and features the fairytale turrets Scottish architects loves so much in Victorian times. It was built 1878 to 1882 on the site of the first town house in Inverness.

Castle Street heads off beside the townhall, and a short way along was Number 27, a very pleasant pub.

The Crown

A flight of steps takes us up to the Crown.

There are over eighty steps - it zigzags and only a third are visible here. Our hotel was on the Crown so we got to know them well.

The Crown is home to the castle. The present castle is something of a fake, being built in 1836. It is currently in the process of being renovated, so not accessible and surrounded by building site. The masonry looks brand new!

This curious building was a girls school, or more specifically the Inverness United Charities Institution to house the Inverness Juvenile Female School, the Ladies' Female Work Society and the Inverness Infant School. It was built in the early 1830s. The dome was an observatory, which I find quite surprising for a girls school at that time.