The Capital of the Highlands

There are two important battle sites near to Inverness:

• The Aird
• Culloden Moor

The Aird was host to a battle between Malcolm III of Scotland. Norwegian forces were led by Thorfinn the Mighty, who was a son of the daughter of Malcolm II of Scotland. Basically a Scottish bloke who thought he was a viking fighting with his Uncle. It is believed this is where modern Scottish weddings originated.

Culloden Moor was host to the Battle of Culloden in 1745. This was the last pitched battle fought on British soil and the last battle of the Jacobite uprising.

As well as being the most northern city in the UK, Inverness is also one of the fastest growing cities in Europe. It is in the top 5 of 189 british cities for its quality of life, the top Scottish city on the list. It is also the happiest place in Scotland and second happiest in the UK according to a survey by a property website.

The River Ness

The city lies on the mouth of the River Ness, which flows from Loch Ness. Inverness gets its name from the meaning ‘Mouth of the River Ness'. The Caledonian Canal, which connects the west coast and the east coast also flows through Inverness. The city also sits on the Great Glen Fault, meaning that there are minor earthquakes every few years. However, these earthquakes are not normally powerful enough to be noticed. The last significant earthquake to affect the city was in 1934. Inverness has a typically oceanic climate, which in laymans terms means its very wet. It can have hot days in summer but a typical winter evening can fall as low as -11°.

Interestingly, the Earl of Inverness is Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. However, local residents began a campaign in 2019 to strip him of this title. Although with -11° winters he won't be the only person in Inverness not sweating.

Inverness Castle is situated on the site of its predecessors, with a castle being on that site since 1056. The current version has been there since 1835.