Inverness, Scotland

Hi everybody,

the other thread about the long weekend in the Highlands kinda died, so I thought I'd try it with a specific request about Inverness.

Our holiday is booked, we found a lovely cottage in Inverness, very close to city centre, countdown is running.

My questions:

- Which day trips around Inverness can you recommend?
- What are good things to do on a rainy day?
- Last but not least: which are your favourite pubs? I'm especially looking for a nice pub quiz as I've hosted one myself for some years in an Irish pub in Hamburg.

Thanks in advance!

you have to take a day trip down the Calendonian Canal, that is great.
I will admit to sitting about an hour and looking for Loch Ness, you become mesmerized by the movement of the water.

I just ate at pub across the road from my hotel near the city center. Don't remember the name, but, it was also 9 years ago, so, probably under a new name now.

You ate a pub? Bet the landlord wasn't too chuffed about that!

Get some good waterproofs and go out. There's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.

The highlands can be as beautiful in the rain as in the sun.

We've got waterproofs, but still, any recommendations for a day IN? We'll be there for over a week...

Ahem, methinks you and Mat are adults and i'm sure you can find something to amuse yourselves with . . .

you could visit Culloden and if it is really pelting it down and you cannot stand upright in the horizonal sleat then there's always Fort George and the regimental museum.

Ah, you know Dave, at our age... it doesn't take all day anymore...

Get away from the crowds and if the weather is good - climb Ben Wyvis!

there are 'crowds' in Inverness? Weren't last time I was there. Small clumps of shoppers sheltering from the horizontal rain maybe.

How about visiting a castle? (as long as it's not a ruin, like Urquhart castle) http://www.visithighlands.com/seeanddo/pla...oric/?view=Wide You could also try Brodie castle, near Forres.

Don't worry about the weather. It's not half as bad as you might have heard. It's unusual for it to rain all day, unlike some places in mainland Europe, and it can often be quite sunny. So you shouldn't have to dress in plastic 24/7.

actually Lorelei is right, its not a s bad as the West Coast. Its just that coming from Scotland, I don't generally rate spring as a good time to see the North and Inverness wouldn't be my first choice of places to stay. You could take day trips by boat from the harbour. They do a boat down the caledonian canal and you can also do a day trip to Orkney from John O Groats but you would have to get there first (Orkney is fantastic!). There is also the Tomatin whisky distillery that does day tours. If the weather is better, there are cairns, ruins, standing stones and pictish carvings all within easy distance from Inverness.

I've been to Scotland a few times already, just not to Inverness area, I've never had the feeling the weather was particularly bad, quite the opposite, I was always lucky. I just wanted to collect some ideas
Thanks a lot for your suggestions.

But: absolutely no recommendations for a nice pub??? I can't believe that...

There are reasons I live in Germany and not Scotland...

As for finding a good one. If it has a big red T outside it walk straight past.

Well, you live in Bavaria, where I come from, we're not exactly sun-kissed...


huh? I know the big yellow M...

Tenants.

Plenty of castles - in varying states of repair - Cawdor and Brodie stick out from my childhood.

Whisky - speyside whisky is great in my biased opinion - many distilleries to choose from.

My home town "Elgin" isnt far away - trying to thing of something nice to say about it - it has a ruined cathedral that was once called the "Lantern of the North".

And amazing scenery - when i am back home always have the hire car and take time just drive about and go for a walk in the woods somewhere.

Cant think of much indoor things - if the weather is crap i usually end up in the pub

The wettest place in Western Europe is in the hills above Foyers - not too far from Inverness.
Inverness itself has a moderate climate and further east it is drier than Hamburg.
The crowds are to be found at the tourist honeypots in high season.
May is often an excellent month to visit the Highlands, particularly the west.
Beware of the Highland midge if you intend to do any walking.
Once having lived there (6 years) I miss the hill walking, haggis suppers,
superb sunsets, long summer days (hardly gets dark)...

Thats not saying much then...

Thanks again for all your input.

We hope the weather will not be too rainy, it's end April, so wish us luck

Jeremy, I can understand very well that you miss Scotland. We've talked about moving to Scotland, are talking about it even more often now. Hope it will happen one fine day.
We're not sure if it would be easy for an Englishman in Scotland tho... Where are you from?

edit: hey guys, I'm still waiting for the pub recommendations! Absolutely no ideas?

What accent do you have and where would you live?

I lived there for 7 very happy years and never had a single issue with anybody because of my being English. I'm from the north though and lived in Edinburgh.

If you have a south england accent and chose to live in some other areas I've heard of people having some issues. From what I have seen there is really a lot more noise about anti-englishness than actuallity. Teasing when the football/rugby is on but nothing nasty.

An English person in Inverness should have absolutely no problem. In fact, I sound English but come from Scotland and never once experienced any negative reactions (and that includes Glasgow, the North as well as the southeast where I come from).

Occasionally you get tongue in cheek jibing and teasing of English people but nothing more than that.

The often quoted anti-English harassment cases in Scotland usually take place on flea-bitten council estates or in hyper ruralk inbred communities in both of which there are potent resentments against anyone who is different in any way.

I'm German, I've been told there's not much German accent left, I've been living with an Englishman for too long...
Mat is from Manchester, but his accent has softened in his years in Hamburg i believe.

We would probably not move to Inverness, Glasgow/Prestwick area is more likely.

edit: thanks for the info, I've noticed quite some bickering here on the board, but never having lived in England or Scotland myself, it's hard for me to judge how much is just friendly banter, and how much is serious resentment. The Scots I met (over here) so far have all been very nice, but then you're all expats here and that might make a difference.
I remember a friend of mine who comes from Belfast telling me that a guy we both know, who is also from Belfast, wouldn't even look at him back home in Belfast, but socialises with him here in Hamburg...

You could visit a local winery. They make very nice mead and liqueurs. http://www.moniackcastle.co.uk/

there wasN't any bickering. I'm actually from Scotland and love the place but am constantly astounded that Germans want to go there rather than to the Mediteranean on holiday.

mead - mmmmmh. I love it, how did you know Will check them out, thanks for the link. Will compare the cherry wine with our local cherry wine from the "Altes Land"


I meant there is bickering here on the board between Englishmen and Scots sometimes

Well, I can't speak for other Germans, but Scotland is beautiful, and so is Ireland. I'm just not so keen on the Mediterranean. Too hot

I give you that, it is VERY beautiful. My surprise probably derives from having lived in London for 8 years where the prevailing sentiment among my English friends was that Scotland was "a shitehole" they would never dream of visiting and almost all of them never had. Whereas I come to Germany and find that most of my German friends have already been to Scotland, love it and will go back again some day. I guess history might explain some of the disdain the English have for Scotland but where does the German enthusiasm come from?

I know that Mendelssohn came to Scotland and was so mesmerised he composed "Calm Seas and aPleasant Voyage", "Fingals Cave" and the "Scottish Symphony" and both Goethe and Schiller showed a fascination for things Scottish. But wjhere did their enthusiasm come from?

I really don't know where it comes from. Going to Scotland feels like coming home. Maybe it's because I had a great time there first when I was 17, maybe it's Samsara, I don't know. I've been to Ireland too, which was also great, I especially liked Northern Ireland.
But Scotland is special. And as you say, I have quite some German friends who feel the same about Scotland... so there must be something about it.
Oh, and I just luuurve the accent. Any Scottish person can just read the phonebook and I'd sit there with a big grin on my face happily listening. I'm always glad when we watch a ManU game and Andy Gray is commentating...
(I suppose that wears off after a while )

Anyway, I'm aware of the fact that loving a place when you are on holiday and actually moving there are a different kettle of fish. We hear from many Brits (English AND Scottish) that the quality of life is so much better in Germany, and Mat really likes it here... so we will not rush a decision.

You've not been to Mid Lothian have you?

Nope, I've only been to Tillycoultry, Dollar, Stirling, Falkirk area, and Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Gimme an example for a famous person who speaks that accent...

Nobody as it's impossible for them to be understood 10 miles outside of Livingston.

Well then I just HAVE to go there for a day to see if I understand them, don't I?

There are so many stunningly beautiful parts of Scotland. Livingston is not in that set. Shopping at the outlet centre is all Livinston has to offer. As a German you'd get lost in the Asda there though as it's obsenely large.

Now women with a soft west coast accent, that's a different matter. I had a girlfriend from Oban and her accent was fantastic (nearly as nice as Californian LH).

Now women with a soft west coast accent, that's a different matter. I had a girlfriend from Oban and her accent was fantastic (nearly as nice as Californian LH).
[/quote]
Ohhh how I wish more men would say that !!
I'm from Skye, much nicer accent than Oban !!

Her mother was from Bara. Now soft spoken west coast women talking in Gaelic...

Just thinking about that makes my heart melt. Cheers Pas that brought on the homesickness big time!

I know what you mean. I'm originally Aussie but have lived in Scotland for the last two years (up until three weeks ago!) and it was really hard to leave. It felt like home for me too, more than anywhere else I've lived!!

Had a long weekend in Aviemore (about an hour from Inverness) not long before I left and it was fantastic. Have a wonderful holiday!

oh, and Scottish accents? Irresistible. Totally. Hence my poor Scottish boyfriend being dragged along to Munich with me

There are some Scottish-Bavarian parliamentary meetings/agreement of some sort. Prob just a cultural thing.
Also have you seen the number of Scot-Bavarian twinnings?

Edinburgh - Munich
Inverness - Augsburg
Dumfries - Passau
and pretty much every other Bavarian town is twinned with a Scottish one. I was with a good Bavarian friend one night and we got onto that on the internet. Just wikipedia-ing towns. Sadly was too under the influence to remember but there is def more a connection here.

Also intrigued to know the connection. An ex-colleague used to tell me about his road trip round Scotland and Wales. I asked why he didnt bother with England, and as has been put rather eloquently somewhere here already, he replied "oh it looks a shitehole"


Me

Robert Carlysle (thats spelt wrong i think...) - Glasgow: West End.
Colin Montgomerie - Glasgow
Carol Smilie - Glasgow

Edinburgh has produced noone of any importance
Personally I think the best accent ever is west coast - notably Kirsty Wark. Its just classic.

you might have heard of one or two of these:

John Napier
Adam Smith
David Hume
James Boswell
Robert Louis Stevenson
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Fleming
James Clerk Maxwell
Rebecca West
Muriel Spark
J. K. Rowling
Ian Wilmut and Dolly the Sheep
Ewen Bremner
Rory Bremner
Nicky Campbell
Sir Sean Connery
Ronnie Corbett
Kirsty Gallacher
Sir Ludovic Kennedy
Sir Harry Lauder
Magnus Magnusson
William Topaz McGonagall
Alexander McCall Smith
Eduardo Paolozzi
Sir Henry Raeburn
Ian Rankin,
Ian Richardson
Irvine Welsh

oh ffs i was joking.

I know

Just a quick hello from the Highlands.
We love it here and are phantasising about what kind of jobs we could find here if we moved here.
We have rented an absolutely stunning cottage near city centre, great base for trips of any kind, it's even got a laptop with broadband for free...

People are just so friendlz and relaxed here, always up for a chat, and I really like the humour here, people are not taking themselves so serious, absolutely no comparison to Germany.

Think I'm just not going back home.

Met any virgins yet?

Say, about 2 dozen of them?

Can add my hometown to that list -

Elgin - Landshut

Should take a German keyboard with you next time though;-)

well spotted

Just wanted to say thanks for the tips.

We've enjoyed Inverness and the whole journey very much, have fallen in love with Scotland even more.

Especially the trip to Ullapool was a very good tip. Absolutely stunning beautiful the area! Unfortunately this time of year we couldn't take a trip to the Summer Isles (it's still spring, duh!! ) - but it was a great day out (with best fish'n'chips ever), were also lucky with the weather (sunshine, 17°C).

Inverness is a great base for trips to all directions, and there's also plenty to do in Inverness itself.
Even shopping was a nice trip: from the car park of the 24-hous-open Tesco (oh luxury!!!) we had a phantastic view to over the Moray Firth.

We also went to the Isle of Skye (trip there very nice, but Portree extremely overpriced!) and to Glencoe (again: stunning!!!).

We'll be back soon!

I'm pleased you had a good trip. Those are some of my favorite places on the planet, even as a non scot. There's noooo way you had the best fish 'n' chips on the planet in Scotland though...

Well, they were the best I've ever had
Apparently the pub was awarded by BBC, I was sceptic, had some pretty good fish n chips before, but they were really THAT good. Confirmed by Mancunian bf.