Inverness [1] is the city at the heart of the Scottish Highlands and the principal centre for administration and commerce.

Contents 1 Understand 2 Get in 2.1 By plane 2.2 By car 2.3 By train 2.4 By bus 2.5 By boat 3 Get around 3.1 By bus 3.2 By train 3.3 By taxis 3.4 By limousine 3.5 By bike 4 See 5 Do 6 Buy 7 Eat 8 Drink 9 Sleep 9.1 Budget 9.2 Mid range 9.3 Splurge

[edit] Understand

Advertised as "the Gateway to the Highlands" by the local authority, and long regarded as the capital of the Highlands, Inverness is regarded as the centre for commerce and industry in the Scottish Highlands, with continuing new investment in traditional industries and new hi-tech industries. It is also said to be one of the fastest growing cities in Europe.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By plane

Inverness has an airport served by British Airways (in the form of Loganair, a franchise partner), Easyjet, BMI, Eastern Airways, Aer Aran, Ryanair and Highland Airways. It is sited between Nairn and Inverness and accessible from the Inverness - Aberdeen road. Limited charter services fly out from this airport. A taxi from the airport into the city costs between £10 and £15. There is an good bus service, with departures every half hour to Inverness and connections to Nairn.

Inverness airport - links to all scheduled services

[edit] By car

Inverness can be reached from the south by the A9 from the south (Perth & M90 from Edinburgh, Glasgow) and from Aberdeen, 110 miles by the A96 road. The A82 reaches Inverness from the south-west, Loch Ness, Fort William and eventually to Skye. None of the roads to Inverness are entirely dual-carriageway. The A9 continues to Thurso on the extreme north coast of the Scottish mainland.

[edit] By train

Inverness railway station is located in the City Centre. There are direct services to Edinburgh, Glasgow and London from the south and Aberdeen from the east. There are two scenic lines: to Thurso and Wick, and to Kyle of Lochalsh.

If you're travelling from London, the sleeper train is an excellent way to travel. It leaves from London Euston and arrives between 0800 - 0830. National Express East Coast [2] also operate a daily service to and from London King's Cross (known as The Highland Chieftain) which leaves at around 0900 (southbound) or 1200 (northbound). Journey time is around 8 hours.

Be warned. There is sometimes an error with the booking system through the internet if you intend to sit rather than book a sleeping berth; if your ticket says 'no seat reserved', you need to either phone up First Scot Rail or visit your nearest train station to reserve one (for free). If you don't have a reserved seat you may not be allowed on the train, despite having bought a ticket with the times and dates of the train printed on them, or at best be forced to pay £40 for a sleeping berth if there is one available.

[edit] By bus

• Buses from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth, operated by Citylink and Megabus
• Stagecoach Bluebird buses from Aberdeen
• National Express run buses from England.

[edit] By boat

The Caledonian Canal links the Beauly Firth through Loch Ness to Fort William at the foot of Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain.

[edit] Get around

[edit] By bus

There are around fifty bus routes traveling in and around Inverness, mainly operated by Stagecoach Inverness[3] and Rapsons Highland [4]. It helps to know where your destination is, as certain services, especially those run by Rapsons, do not have detailed information on the outside of the bus. The average fare for inner-city travel is around £1.25 single adult and 65p for children, though this may vary from time to time.

[edit] By train

The 'Invernet' rail network provides commuter train services to Inverness from Tain, Dingwall and Beauly in the North, Nairn, Forres and Elgin in the East and Aviemore and Kingussie in the South.

[edit] By taxis

This is probably the most efficient form of transport after hours, as most bus services cease or become less frequent at about 7pm. You won't be expected to pay a great deal for a taxi as Inverness is rather small and routes are very direct. Some black cabs do exist, though the majority of taxis are minicabs. These are all fairly trustworthy.

[edit] By limousine

Limos are available for hire from certain operators at a rate of about £70/hour.

[edit] By bike

There are a few cycle lanes [5] on Inverness roads. However there are many combined cycle-footpaths where bicycles are welcome.

[edit] See

• Inverness Castle [6] at the end of the western pedestrian zone. It is a relatively new castle built in 1847 to replace a medieval castle blown up by the Jacobites. It houses the Sheriff Court and cannot be seen as a visitor (you at least should try to never see it from the inside).

• Inverness Museum & Art Gallery [7], Castle Wynd (base of Inverness Castle), 237114. The museum has a collection of Pictish stones and wildlife dioramas, as well as historic weapons. Closed in July 2006 for major refurbishment, due to reopen in January 2007.

• Old High Church [8], Church Street, Inverness IV1 1EY. Oldest Church in Inverness, the 'Town Church' of the city. Historic Tour each Friday at 11.30am, June to August. Sunday services at 11.15am, Prayers for Peace and Justice every Friday at 1.05pm, and occasional evening services in the summer, with guest preachers, as advertised.

[edit] Do

Muckrach Lodge Hotel and Restaurant. Tel: 01479 851 257 Enjoy the smooth, jazzy sounds of the Andy Hodge Trio live at the Muckrach Lodge Hotel, every Wednesday night . Dine in our superlative restaurant on innovative dishes prepared from the freshest local ingredients by our kitchen team and then relax in the piano lounge. Jazz Night supper £28 for Jazz, two courses and a glass of wine. Booking strongly advised. Visit the Website

• Located on the south side of the Moray Firth with picturesque River Ness flowing through the city, it is worth taking a walk to the Ness Islands or the Caledonian Canal[9]. From the castle, walk upstream along the River Ness for less than 1 mile. The Caledonian Canal towpath is also good for walking.

• Or take a walk along the river with the Churches Along the River leaflet, available from hotels, tourist offices, churches or downloadable from the website.

• Inverness offers activities from golfing to watersports.

• A bicycle ride through the Ness Islands and along the waterfront is highly recommended.

[edit] Buy

Eastgate Centre (Shopping Mall) [10]

[edit] Eat

Inverness has a wide selection of restaurants to suit all tastes and budgets. There are a number of high quality restaurants serving a mixture of traditional Scottish food and modern cuisine using locally sourced produce. Worthy of a mention are:

• Muckrach Lodge Hotel & Restaurant, Tel: 01479 851 257. An award-winning restaurant, where head chef Christian Rhein has a passion for local Scottish produce. Excellent food and scenery, with an a la carte menu, as well as terrace lunches and full breakfast. Muckrach Website

• Ash Restaurant and Lounge Bar, a boutique city centre restaurant next to Railway Station, next to East gate Retail and Opposite Victorian Market, offering an extensive a ala carte menu with free wi-fi facilities .
• The Heathmount Hotel [11]a boutique hotel with informal restaurant and a lively bar at Crown just minutes walk from city centre

• The Mustard Seed [12]

• Rocpool

• Glenmoriston Hotel

• Cafe1 - Beside Rileys and simply a bit of an institution

• Castle Restaurant - Cheap, cheerful and popular. Also very convenient for the High Street.

• La Tortilla Asesina [13] The tapas bar where lovers of all things Spanish meet. Opposite the road entrance to the castle.

• Hootananny's [14] on Church Street do good Thai food (in a Scottish Themed pub) relatively Cheaply

• Numerous Curry Houses, including Cinnamon near the Eastgate Shopping Centre and Rajah in Post Office Lane.

Check the easyjet guide - meal prices up to €15 (£10) [15] up to €30 (£20) [16] and over ... [17]

[edit] Drink

Inverness has a 12 o'clock curfew. You will not be allowed to enter any pub or club after midnight apart from the one you are already in. So don't get caught out as some pubs close at midnight and then your night ends!

There's plenty of live music and good lively atmospheres around so have fun exploring. Hootananny's is the chief of those, offering (predominantly) celtic entertainment.

As in all Scotland, all enclosed public places - which includes all eating places and bars - are non-smoking. A few have outside seating areas.

On a warm summer's evening, the Dores Inn on the northern shore of Loch Ness (east side)is a particularly pleasant place to linger over a beer. They do good, traditional pub food, too.

[edit] Sleep

[edit] Budget

• Inverness Youth HostelVictoria Drive, ph: 0870 004 1127, [18] A modern 5 star hostel with excellent facilities. Some small rooms en-suite, internet, laundry. £10.75-13.50/5.00-12.00 (adult/child). Open all year.

• Bazpackers, 4 Culduthel Rd, Inverness, IV2 4AB, ph: 01463 717663[19] A perfect combination of cleanliness and informality. This hostel is quite small so booking in advance is advised. They have a resident cat called Polly.

• Bught caravan and camping site, Bught Lane, Inverness, IV3 5SR, ph: 01463 236920, [20] is just off the main road out to Loch Ness and Fort William. Open March to November, it is situated conveniently for a very pleasant 20 minute walk along the river into the city centre.

[edit] Mid range

• The Royal Highland Hotel, a completely refurbished luxury city centre Heritage hotel located next to the Railway Station, a popular venue and a landmark of Inverness and Highland ambience since 1856:http://royalhighlandhotel.co.uk/,email info@royalhighlandhotel.co.uk

Pottery House: A wonderful bed and breakfast just outside of Inverness in the village of Dores. Rooms offer views directly onto the Loch Ness: http://www.potteryhouse.co.uk/

• Loch Ness House Hotel, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, IV3 8JL, Tel: +44 (1463) 231248, Loch Ness House Hotel offers Highland hospitality at its best at this welcoming family-owned hotel.

[edit] Splurge