We drove into Inverness from Loch Ness, right into an area of the city that was at first glance, disappointing. It felt stark and dirty and busy and I was worried this was going to be a place I wouldn’t want to stay.

We parked the car at a mall, and found a little place to have a bowl of soup and decide what to do next. I found a couple of B&B’s close by, so we walked around to take a look. Climbing up a hill, I spotted the river to our right and a big old hotel right across from it.

That’s where I wanted to stay.

As we wound our way down stairs my spirits lifted, and we ended up right where we needed to be.

In the heart of the city we discovered great shopping, restaurants, old churches and of course, a castle.

 

We walked across the bridge and found a room at the hotel I had seen. After some shopping, and sightseeing we relaxed in our room overlooking the river and the Inverness Castle.

That night we found a fun place to eat at Hootananny’s and then a wonderful little place with local musicians to entertain us. John and I both love music, and would hate to leave Scotland without hearing some local music.

 

Crossing the bridge later that night, we were both in great spirits and happy from our evening out. We couldn’t decide if the bagpipes, accordion or fiddle was our favorite from the evening’s music.

One of the reason’s I had picked Inverness to visit was so I would have a chance to visit the famous Battlefield at Culloden. While I was online researching where it was, I also noticed another place close by that was interesting.

The next morning, we packed up our things and made our way to Culloden. The sky was dark and ominous, which perfectly matched the somber mood at this historic field.

Leaving there, we found Clava Cairns and were surprised to discover a magnificent bridge on our way. The ancient cairns were filled with unknown and wonder. The surrounding trees had yet to leaf out, and the filtered sunlight through them gave the place an air of mystery.

We walked along the lane to get a better view of the bridge and while there, decided we needed to have a few days in nature to sooth our souls, and made our way to Cairngorms National Park.