After several jam-packed days in historic Edinburgh, we headed to Inverness – our meetup location for a week of guided hiking in Assynt. We went back and forth on whether to stay one or two nights. Eventually, after finding a lovely bed & breakfast that would accept a one-night reservation, we opted for a single night. Major factors in our decision included: 1) Inverness Castle was closed for a long-term construction project; and 2) many of the day trips from Inverness traveled into to the Scottish Highlands, where we were already booked for 2 weeks.

Getting There

Our pre-trip planning identified a ScotRail train with minimal stops, arriving midday in Inverness. We took advantage of advance booking discounts to purchase first-class tickets. The upgrade was a waste of money! As soon as we boarded the train, announcements started broadcasting that due to a change of train, pre-assigned seats and first class seating were not available. Come to find out, this a fairly regular thing with ScotRail. 🙁

No matter, we found a relatively quiet car near the end of the train with tables and luggage racks. After jamming our suitcases into the luggage racks, we claimed a table and got to work processing photos during our ~ 3 hr train ride. Since we had only one laptop, we took turns enjoying the scenery and working.

Second Stop, Lunch

While aboard the train, we made good use of my Vodaphone 30-day data plan to scout possible restaurants for lunch and book a reservation. So after hauling our bags up yet more steps (not as many as in Edinburgh), we made our way to our B&B to drop our suitcases.

Then we speed-walked to Urquhart’s Restaurant. We were running slightly late for our reservation because one engine on our ScotRail train wasn’t working properly and it took longer than usual to get up one of the steepest train track inclines in Scotland.

We indulged at lunch, ordering fish and chips with a side of onion rings to share. In the end, it was too much food. But we were well fueled for our afternoon of walking along the River Ness.

Ness Walk

After lunch, we did kind of a figure-8 route on part of the Ness Walk. We headed South from Ness Bridge, along the west bank of the River Ness. We stopped for gelato (even though we didn’t need it) and to take a look at the Inverness Cathedral.

From there, we continued south to the Infirmary Bridge. Constructed in 1881, this suspension bridge has lattice-girder pylons on cast-iron bases, with wire-rope cables and iron rod suspenders. The contractor was W Smith and Sons, Ness Iron Works and their name is still attached to the bridge.

From there, we headed north, passing distilleries, hotels and restaurants. We crossed back to the west bank at Ness Bridge and then continued north, watching locals and their dogs hang out on the gravel bars between the Ness walkway and the river itself. We couldn’t get over how many churches there were along the east bank!

After crossing the Greig Street pedestrian bridge back to the east bank, we headed to town center to pick up a few supplies: more sunscreen, some tissues and a luggage strap. My suitcase was damaged when we jammed it into the luggage rack on the train. With a loose fastener, I was afraid it might catch on something and either injure somebody or become fully detached.

Inverness Creative Academy

Errands completed, we started making our way towards our B&B, hoping for a slightly early check-in. But when we passed a sandwich board promoting an art exhibition in what looked like an old school building, we decided to stop in for a look.

We’d accidentally stumbled across the Inverness Creative Academy, operated by wasps_ (Workshop & Artists Studio Provision Scotland Ltd.). wasps_ is a registered charity dedicated to providing studio space to allow artists and creative organizations to flourish. With 21 buildings across Scotland, wasps_ is the creative home to more than a thousand artists and organizations.

We didn’t see any of the studio spaces. But the main exhibition space was great! First off, it has a cafe. We didn’t partake, as they were doing end of day clean-up / closing as we arrived. Second, the space itself is interesting:

And third, the exhibition by Liz Green was “Arboreal Realms.” The paintings of forests, flowers, meadows and natural landscapes definitely appealed to my love of #nearbynature. Here are photos of a few of my favourites:

By the time the exhibition space closed, it was check-in time at our nearby B&B. After stowing our luggage in our room and unpacking just a few things, we headed out in search of a place for supper. In the end, we found a highly-rated pizza place just a few blocks from our B&B – Cheese & Tomatin. We dined outside on their tiny patio space, enjoying people watching almost as much as we enjoyed our pizza!

That was it – a half day out and about in Inverness. We found it very walkable and quite scenic. After trekking back to our bed and breakfast, it was time to sleep – and perchance to dream about some of the highland hills we’d be hiking in the coming week. 🙂