View from our hotel room in Inverness
Did the usual Atlantic crossing --- departed on a Friday evening and endured a more or less sleepless night, arriving in Glasgow Saturday morning. Breakfast at the Glasgow airport was less than desirable, but killed time until we boarded our prop flight to Inverness…the largest village in the Scottish Highlands with a population around 65,000.
Chip and his roommate’s father picked us up from the verdant green field where we touched down (it would be charitable to call this wee facility an airport). Soon we were speeding along the narrow Scotttish roads into town to check in to our hotel on the banks on the Inverness River. The interesting tidbit around the name Inverness is that it translates to “mouth of the Ness”…meaning that one of the stops on our itinerary would be checking out Loch Ness!
Our lodging was the Ramada Jarvis Inverness…a bit tattered, but the price was fair and we had a splendid view from our room’s window overlooking the River Ness.
Footpath across the Inverness along the 'Ladies Walk'
Brandon’s father (Brandon being Chip’s college roommate), politely left us alone downtown to get caught up. We let Chip select our lunch venue, deferring to his local knowledge and of course he guided us to a Spanish restaurant, lol. It was actually quite good, but far removed from the bangers, blood sausages and haggis that I was anticipating! After lunch Chip gave us a walking tour of downtown --- not unlike what I would have expected of a similar sized town in the United States.
Chip got picked up and returned home…and Kim I enjoyed what we always do together --- simply amble about and explore. We stumbled upon a charming pathway that skirted the Inverness, the “Ladies Walk”. The plant life was astonishing, with gargantuan rhododendrons and wild foxglove everywhere, lending a delicious scent to the trail. There were also bridges that crossed over the river so you could meander both sides….a beautiful excursion!
