Storyline: A Glimpse of Scotland
…. Or at least from all the cities we’ve visited so far…
Inverness has a quiet beauty or as Alex put it an understated dignity. During our train trip from Kyle of Lochalsh the scenery changed from bleak and unpredictable to warm and familiar. Leaving the train, we felt fresh crispness coming from the moody skies with alternating sun and clouds, but it didn’t rain.
We are in the city centre. And it is clean and pretty. True to his habits, Alex took the wrong turn and we walked for a while towards industrial areas and highways.
Then we made our way back to the centre found our route, walk up by the castle, through some pretty green areas and an hour or so later reached our destination.
Everywhere was impressively clean and tidy.
Our studio for two nights had big windows facing lots of beautiful trees and gardens.
The remainder of the day we explored the city and its beauty, walked to the centre for dinner and called it a day. Nowhere did we notice imperfection. Not a cigarette butt, not a single flying paper, not a rotting plastic bag, and I deliberately tried to find some.
At dinner we shared Cullen skink (a chowder resembling soup with smoked haddock, potatoes and some veggies), and haggis. We had tried and enjoyed these dishes before, both in Glasgow and in Skye, yet this time they were a cut above…absolutely delicious.
The next day we walked literally everywhere. We walked by the river Ness on both sides,
we crossed many bridges,
we walked to Eden Court, the city theater, cinema and events venue, had the best lentil soup for this trip (they are very proud with their locally sourced food and for good reason), then headed towards the North Sea, following the north bank of the river Ness. The road took us through the working-class communities of Merkinch and South Kessock. I searched again for cigarette butts, a beer can or any litter. None was to be seen. Somewhere closer to the centre we saw a sign that the fine for throwing a cigarette butt was £80. Was this the secret, or is it part of the social fabric?
The small working-class houses were still pretty, full with flowers and charm. We walked into a pub for a bio-break. It was clearly an area that if in any other city we might feel threatened, or at least uncomfortable.
As we entered, the background volume muted and all the eyes were on us. They were not used to strangers outside of the local community. Posted on the toilet doors were warnings about using drugs on the premises. You get the picture. Yet everything, including the toilets was very clean.
We walked through industrial areas, by fishing and lumber wharfs all the way down to Carnarc Point,
with a view past the Kessock bridge that carries the A9 road to the Moray firth – an inlet from the North Sea that takes the outflow from the Beauly and Ness Firths and the east end of the Caledonian Canal (we visited the West end of this canal at Corpach while visiting Fort William).
Walking through somewhat wild paths we are used to seeing at least some rubbish, some flying plastic bag or a beer can or a cigarette but. Nothing. Pristine clean. We found really amusing that one old sign on a bridge was written in English and Polish (not Scottish?) The sign said – No fishing allowed on Sundays!
Maybe many of the fishermen around are Poles (Alex missed the chance here to write about fishing poles). Or were, since the sign seems to have seen some history.
We chatted with our hosts. They said that they tended to take the cleanliness for granted, until they visited filthy Glasgow and their kids asked why there were plastic bags hung on the trees.
One more thing – they drive with a crazy high speed in Inverness.
Inverness is increasingly touristy. All hotels, B&Bs and other accommodations are full. I booked through Airbnb well in advance and had hard time finding something in our budget range. Yet the tourists didn’t seem to be that numerous in the city itself. Maybe they were taking the tours around the Loch Ness or elsewhere. Still, how they keep the city so clean is a (pleasant) enigma for us. There are many nice walks around the city and the river one can take. So, if you are in the neighbourhood, spend a day or two in Inverness. You will enjoy it.
Glad you’re enjoying Scotland. I must admit, in all the time spent in Scotland, I have only spent one night in Inverness. Will have to go back.