A Scottish, mountain town by the river Ness, that flows out of the famous lake Loch Ness, where a monster was reportedly seen. In the Roman times Inverness was one of main fortresses of the Picts, indigenous people of these lands, that painted and tattooed their bodies.
The current premises of a court is located in a castle, that partially can be visited. It is exactly where you should start discovering Inverness – from the castle hill there can be seen a lovely panorama of the town. The fortress is dated back to the 11th century, to times of rules of king Malcolm III. The legend claims that the king first ruled to destroyed a castle previously standing there, as in it Shakespearean’s Macbeth was supposed to kill Duncan.
Visit also a house by Bridge Street, in which in 1562 queen Maria I Stuart rested. She wanted to get to the castle, but its warden, supporter of her political opposition, wouldn’t let her in, for which he was later on hanged. During the holiday of Assumption of Virgin Mary thee is organized a feast to commemorate the queen.
Where to rest in Inverness? Close to the city’s centre, on the river there are Ness Islands with a lovely park. You can get there by foot, via bridges connecting banks. Through the park you can walk and et through charming, wooden bridges or sit by one of the wooden, sculpted benches and admire surrounding you nature. If you happen to be there in period from February to October, don’t be surprised if you see a fisherman catching salmons.
You can get to know history of these areas on Culloden Battlefield, where in 1746 there was a bloody rebellion of Jacobites organized. In one hour around 1500 people died. Today there is an interactive centre displaying the course of the battle and explaining the reasons behind it. The result of war was erection of Fort George, the biggest artillery’s fortress in Great Britain. You can see there closely how life looked like in the 18th century army. In the collection are bayonet’s muskets, swords or bags full of ammunition.
