Inverness

It was time to head to Inverness where I had booked a full-day tour of the Isle of Skye for the following day. I left my Airbnb in Fort William and walked to the bus station a few minutes away. The bus ride to Inverness was beautiful as it passed through the lush countryside and small villages along the banks of Loch Ness. There were certainly a lot of tourist attractions about the Loch Ness monster!

Inverness, which means “mouth of the River Ness”, is considered the capital of the Scottish Highlands and was named the happiest place in Scotland. My hotel sat on Church Street which certainly lived up to its name with churches on every block! It was right in the city center and was a block from the River Ness. I checked into my hotel, dropped off my backpack, and headed out to explore the city.

It was another gorgeous day with blue skies and sunshine so I decided to take a walk and see some sights. I walked across and along the River Ness then back over to the city center.

Just wandering around, I followed stairs up to where the castle-like building sat over-looking the river and around the adjacent neighborhood. I later found out this was not an actual castle but a government building that had been built fairly recently. Inverness is the “big city” that serves most of the Scottish Highlands and was definitely a busy place.

After purchasing my requisite Inverness hoodie, I went back to the hotel and had dinner in the bar. This was another instance of contactless dining as I had to look at the menu, order and pay on their app and get my own beverage. I headed to bed early since I had an early tour the next morning.