Inverness, Scotland
After overnights flights, overnight trains and various other forms of long-distance transportation we all finally arrived in the city of Inverness, known locally as “The Capital of the Highlands.” We had a few hours to explore this charming and ancient city, sitting quietly along the wide expanse of the River Ness which runs right through the centre of town. The dominating shape of Inverness Castle, now used as the law courts and offices, looks down on the town and river and makes a statement as to the importance of Inverness both past and present. For a small city centre there are a surprising number of streets, lanes, alleyways and pedestrianised areas all populated with a scatter of small shops, cafes, restaurants and the occasional business office. This is the main shopping and business centre for the whole of the large Highland Region and is used by people from many miles away.
But by 4:00pm we caught our first glimpse of the Lord of the Glens as the coach drove along the banks of the locks of the canal where the ship sat awaiting our arrival. We were greeted on board in true Scottish style by a piper, in full Highland dress, playing her instrument and announcing a broad welcome for much of the city to hear! After the formal part of the ship’s procedures (the safety drill) we were introduced to our Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic staff by Steve Blamires, our expedition leader. Helping him are Konia Tack and Rick Atkinson from Lindblad Expeditions and Iris Barry, our National Geographic staff, all of whom clearly have a deep passion for Scotland, its people and culture.
Our evening was rounded-off in grand style with another authentic display of Scottish culture by the very young pupils of a local school of Scottish country dancing. The young girls, and one very small boy, proudly showed their steps to these ancient tunes played once more by our lady piper. It was truly heartening to see that such young boys and girls are still eager to maintain these ancient traditions and were happy to give up an evening at home to come and dance for us. And this was just the beginning of our Scottish adventure… what else lies ahead!
