Ah, Inverness, just the name has always sounded a big magical to me. I was here overnight many years ago, so I was happy to spend a whole three nights here this trip, again with the nephew. We had so much fun!
Our house rental was just a block away from the Caledonian Canal that goes from Moray and Beuly Firths all the way to Loch Ness. I had picked it for its proximity water and I wasn’t disappointed with any of the walks along the canal path.
As a bonus on the last morning of our stay, we got to see a small cruise ship going through the first of the five Muirtown Canal Locks that open up the canal through Inverness and, eventually, on to Loch Ness.
That first night, after a fair amount of driving, the obvious choice for dinner was two doors down at the local pub. The fish and chips were excellent and so was the eavesdropping on the locals conversation about best singers and albums!
Cruising the Waters
We did two cruises while in town, both were fun in different ways. The first was with Dolphin Spirit Cruises, leaving from the Inverness marina and out only Beuly Firth and then Moray Firth, under the wide span of the Kessock Bridge. We’d cross over that bridge as we left Inverness, so it was cool to sail under it first.
One of the defining features of our trip was seeing the bright yellow gorse on hillsides from Edinburgh to Inverness and beyond. We hit it at just the right time, and it was gorgeous!
The second cruise was, of course, on Loch Ness. How could we NOT do that?! We chose the ticket that cruised by Urquhart Castle, rather than get off there and look around the ruins. In retrospect, it would have been better to do the “get off and look around” ticket because by the time we drove down to the castle, there was literally no parking left and we were turned away and asked to come back later. Oh, well, something to do next time!
It was 45 minutes and gave us a good look at the castle and also of the highlands that line the shores of Loch Ness. I might have taken a few too many photos, but it was so beautiful out there, I wanted to remember every minute of it.
Another Cathedral
We ventured downtown to do a bit of sightseeing and catch dinner. First things first, we had to park, and once again, the Ring Go app was required, this time at the car park next to the cathedral. At this point, we had the app usage dialed it, so easy-peasy and we were ready to check out the area.
Inverness Cathedral is small, but the self-guided tour is very detailed and information and I really enjoyed it. It’s not as majestic as the more well-known cathedrals, like Lincoln or Salisbury (both of which I’ve seen) but it fits into Inverness well, and the volunteer staff are kind and welcoming, justly proud of their building.
Dinner our second night was Italian, a place called Zizzis, and pizza for me, pasta for him, with a table overlooking the River Ness and all the street action on the walking paths that line both sides of the water. The buildings along the river are beautiful, more old architecture that really look beautiful when properly cared for.
Our last night, we went to Tiger on the Wall, a small restaurant across from the cathedral that had Indian (his fave) and Thai (my fave). Very casual, great service and very tasty food for reasonable prices.
After that second dinner, we took a stroll down the canal path ourselves, having a nice chat and enjoying the evening. As we sat on a bench and looked out at the river, we realized there was a guy in waders, up to his waist in the water, fly fishing in the dusk. He was a local, as was made clear when a buddy of his stopped by to tell him to get out of the water because it was starting to rain. He was still in there casting away when we bowed to the raindrops and headed back to our car.
Portable Laundromats
Someone has figured out that (a) not everyone has a washer and dryer at home and (b) those combo washer/dryer units are mostly awful. Their solution? Laundromat “trailers” that you can drop at a gas station, a convenience store, or a shopping center. I saw them in all of those places as I traveled around, but Inverness was the first one, and it had two, so it gets the feature. Although this photo shows no people, the place was hopping on a Sunday morning, which is why I noticed it on my walk.
They really are clever installations, with contactless payments and the ability to text you when your cycle is done. Kind of impressive, really. Next time, I’ll skip the combo washer/dryer, which I never figured out, and just sit in the car park and do my laundry here.
Did not strong connections draw me elsewhere, I believe Scotland would be the country I would choose to end my days in.
Benjamin Franklin
author
I used one of those laundromats too, but the wash cycle didn’t spin our clothes well enough and the dryer cycle didn’t work or we did it wrong! Either way, we had our hotel rooms lamps and anything else where we could hang 10 days of laundry draped with our clothing. I even hung my jeans on the window winders and let them hang on the outside of the building! It was pretty funny in retrospect. But very frustrating at the time!!!
I never got as far north as Inverness. Now I want to check it out. Love the dedicated fisherman.
Those portable laundromats?!? Do you think they are a permanent solution that saves these towns from greater water/sewer expansion, or is it more likely a tourist season amenity?
It seemed like a lot of locals were using them, so maybe it’a just more visible than a traditional laundromat in the US?