Inverness

Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the main city for the Highland Council and is often called the capital of the Highlands. The city is very old, with people living there thousands of years ago. It became important in the 6th century and received its first official charter from King David I around 1160.

Inverness is famous for its history and its location near important battle sites, such as the Battle of Culloden. It is the northernmost city in the United Kingdom and sits at the northeastern end of the Great Glen, where the River Ness flows into the Beauly Firth. The city was granted official city status in the year 2000.

The city has grown quickly over the years. In 2001, many people lived there, and by 2016, the number had risen a lot. Today, Inverness is one of Europe’s fastest-growing cities, and many people in the Highlands live in or around it. In 2008, it was ranked among the best places to live in the United Kingdom, higher than any other Scottish city.

Prehistory and archaeology

People have learned about the early history of Inverness by digging up old places before new buildings or roads are built.

Between 2009 and 2010, they found old tools and pieces of buildings. This showed that humans lived in the Inverness area as early as 6500 BC. They also found a piece of stone from a faraway place called Yorkshire. This means people in Inverness were trading with others long ago.

In the mid-1990s, more digging was done near a new shopping area. They found old graves from the Bronze Age and the remains of old homes from the Iron Age. They even found old brooches that came from the Roman Empire. This shows that people in Inverness were trading with Romans a long time ago.

History

Picts

Inverness was an important place for the Picts, an old group of people who lived in Scotland. In the year 569, a man named St Columba visited the city to talk to the Pictish king, Brude. St Columba went to a place called Craig Phadrig, where he thought the king might have lived. Near the river, there might have been a small church or a place for monks.

Medieval

In the 1100s, King David I gave Inverness its first official document. Macbeth, the king made famous by Shakespeare’s play, ruled from a castle in Inverness. Later, King Malcolm III built Inverness Castle after tearing down an older castle.

Inverness was a busy place but sometimes faced attacks. In the 1400s, leaders from the Hebride islands raided the town. Battles happened nearby, like the Battle of Harlaw in 1411. Inverness was also a strong place for some leaders and saw many fights between families.

Post-medieval

In 1562, Mary, Queen of Scots tried to enter Inverness Castle but was refused. Later, local groups took over the castle for her. During wars, leaders built strong places nearby, but many were torn down later.

Inverness was important during conflicts called the Jacobite risings. In 1689, leaders trying to put King James VII back on the throne surrounded the town, but were helped by another leader with a big army.

18th century

In 1715, groups called Jacobites used a fort in Inverness as their base. In 1746, a big battle happened nearby at Culloden Moor.

Industrial Revolution, the World Wars and end of the millennium

In 1855, trains first came to Inverness, connecting it to other places. During World War One, the United States built a base nearby.

In World War Two, Inverness was important for moving coal north. The town was lucky and didn’t get damaged during the war.

21st century

In the 2000s, Inverness grew quickly and became a happy and successful place. It was named one of the happiest towns in Scotland in surveys in 2014 and 2015.

Demography

Inverness and the areas around it have many place names from the Gaelic language. This is because people spoke Gaelic there until the late 1800s.

There are several special springs near Inverness that people believed had healing powers. For example, the "Red Spring" was thought to help with health issues. Many places around Inverness still have names from the Gaelic language, such as "Little Yellow Hill" or "The Hill of the Wind".

The name Inverness has been used in other places too, like in the United States, Canada, and even on a moon of the planet Uranus.

Geography

Location

Inverness is where the River Ness starts. The river flows from Loch Ness and is close to the Moray Firth. The city is at the end of the Great Glen valley. Loch Ness, Loch Ashie, and Loch Duntelchaig are nearby to the west. The Caledonian Canal runs through this area, connecting Loch Ness, Loch Oich, and Loch Lochy.

The Ness Islands are a public park. They are two wooded islands joined by footbridges and have been popular since the 1840s. Craig Phadraig is a hill that was once an ancient fort. It has clear hiking paths through the woods.

Inverness is on the Great Glen Fault. Small earthquakes happen about every three years. Often, people do not notice them. The last one felt in Inverness was in 1934.

Climate

Like much of the United Kingdom, Inverness has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb). The weather here is cooler than in southern parts of Britain. The hottest temperature ever recorded was 29.7 °C (85.5 °F) in July 2006 and June 2018. The coldest was −18.7 °C (−1.7 °F) in January 2010. Usually, the warmest day reaches about 25 °C (77 °F), and the coldest night drops to around −11 °C (12 °F). This area has mild temperature changes and gets plenty of rain throughout the year.

Health

Main article: Raigmore Hospital

Further information: Highland Clinical Research Facility

Raigmore Hospital is the main hospital in Inverness and the Highland region. It opened in 1970, replacing older buildings. Raigmore is a teaching hospital for the universities of Aberdeen and Stirling. Behind the hospital is a Centre for Health Science, supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Scottish Government, and Johnson & Johnson. Part of this centre opened in 2007, and more parts opened in 2009. The University of Stirling moved some of its teaching work to this centre, and the University of the Highlands and Islands also works closely with it.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Scotland

Further information: Economic history of Scotland

Many old jobs, like in distilling, have changed. Now, Inverness has new jobs, especially in making tools for people with diabetes, thanks to a company called LifeScan. A group called Highlands and Islands Enterprise helped create a place for health-related businesses. Inverness also has jobs because Scottish Natural Heritage moved there from Edinburgh.

The city centre is on the east side of a river. Bridges, like the Greig Street Bridge, connect it to the west side. The old part of the city has streets such as High Street and Church Street. A busy market, the Victorian Market, is in the middle. The main train station is very close to this market. Over time, a large shopping area called the Eastgate Shopping Centre has grown east of High Street.

Education

Inverness has many schools to help children learn. There are about a dozen primary schools, including a special one called Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Inbhir Nis where students learn in Gaelic. There are also five secondary schools: Inverness High School, Inverness Royal Academy, Charleston Academy, Millburn Academy, and Culloden Academy.

The city also has UHI Inverness, which is part of the University of the Highlands and Islands. This place offers many learning chances, from basic courses to advanced studies. In 2015, it moved to a new campus on the Inverness Campus. This big development includes places for learning, business, sports, student housing, and even a hotel. The new campus is very important for the area.

Transport

Roads

Inverness is connected to the Black Isle by the Kessock Bridge. Three main roads link Inverness to other parts of Scotland: the A9 goes north to Thurso and Wick, and south to Perth (part of European Route E15) and the Central Belt; the A82 heads to Glasgow through Fort William; and the A96 goes to Elgin and Aberdeen. There are plans to improve the A96 road between Inverness and Nairn and to build a southern bypass to help with traffic problems in Inverness. This bypass, called the Inverness Trunk Road Link (TRL), has two parts.

The eastern part of the bypass will connect the A9 at Inshes to the A96. The western part of the bypass will cross the Caledonian Canal and the River Ness. Construction on the western section began in June 2019 and was completed in August 2021.

In 2008, the Scottish Government decided to improve the A9 road. Work was done at Moy, Carrbridge, and Bankfoot. In 2011, there were plans to upgrade the A9 road to Inverness, but this was delayed. There were also plans to upgrade the A96 road between Inverness and Aberdeen, but these plans have changed.

Buses and coaches

The Inverness bus station is near Academy Street and Margaret Street. It is managed by The Highland Council. Buses run around the town, to the airport, and to places like Fort William, Ullapool, Thurso, and Aberdeen. Scottish Citylink runs coach services to Edinburgh, connecting to Glasgow at Perth.

National Express Coaches runs an overnight service to London Victoria via Edinburgh.

Railway

Train services are operated by three companies:

• ScotRail connects Inverness railway station to Perth, Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Queen Street, Aberdeen, Thurso, Wick, and Kyle of Lochalsh.

• Caledonian Sleeper runs a service six times a week to London Euston

• London North Eastern Railway operates the Highland Chieftain service daily to London King's Cross, via Edinburgh Waverley.

Inverness Airport station opened in 2023, with services to Inverness and Aberdeen.

Port of Inverness

The Port of Inverness is at the mouth of the River Ness. It has four quays and welcomes over 300 ships each year.

Air

Inverness Airport is about 13 km (8.1 mi) northeast of the city. It has regular flights to many places in the UK, such as London, Manchester, Belfast, and islands north and west of Scotland, as well as several flights to Europe.

Loganair flies to Benbecula, Dublin, Kirkwall, Stornoway, and Sumburgh. EasyJet flies three times a day to London Gatwick, twice a day to Luton, and daily to Bristol. British Airways has a daily flight to London Heathrow, and KLM flies daily to Amsterdam.

Government

See also: Politics of the Highland council area and List of provosts of Inverness

Inverness has two levels of local government. The main one is the Highland Council, which is based in the city and handles most services. There are also smaller community councils that help with local issues in different parts of the city.

Administrative history

Inverness has a long history of local government. It became a special town called a royal burgh in the 1100s and was run by its own town council until 1975. During this time, a special official called the Sheriff of Inverness helped with legal matters for the area of Inverness-shire.

When local government changed in 1890, Inverness was big enough to handle some county tasks itself, so it didn’t join the larger county council. Later, in 1930, it joined the county council but kept many of its own services.

In 1975, big changes happened. The old system was replaced, and Inverness became part of a larger district within the Highland region. This district included both the city and surrounding rural areas.

In 1996, the system changed again. The regions and districts were replaced with single-tier council areas, and the Highland region became one of these new council areas.

The Highland Council has special groups called area committees to discuss local issues. One of these is the City of Inverness Area Committee, made up of local councillors. This group picks one member to be called the Provost of Inverness.

City status

In 2001, Inverness was given city status. Special documents called letters patent were given to the Highland Council. These documents say that Inverness is a city but don’t set exact borders for the city. In 2008, a request to create special symbols for the city was turned down because there wasn’t a legal group, like a council, to receive them.

Parliamentary representation

There are two main areas that elect representatives with “Inverness” in their names:

• One area elects a representative to the House of Commons in Westminster. This is called Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire.
• One area elects a representative to the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood. This is called Inverness and Nairn.

These areas are part of the larger Highland council area, but their borders are different for elections to Westminster and Holyrood.

Culture

Twin towns and sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Scotland

Inverness is twinned with:

• Augsburg, Germany (1956)
• La Baule-Escoublac, France (1981)
• Saint-Valery-en-Caux, France (1987)

Arts and events

The main theatre, cinema and arts centre in Inverness is called Eden Court Theatre. Other venues in the city include Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, The Iron Works, the Northern Meeting Park and Wasp Studios. Inverness is an important place for bagpipe players and fans, as the city hosts the Northern Meeting every September. The Inverness cape, a special rain coat worn by pipers around the world, may or may not be made in the city.

Another big event is the yearly City of Inverness Highland Games. This event started in 1822 and the Northern Meeting Society built the first Highland Games stadium, the Northern Meeting Park, in 1864. After World War II, the Town Council began organizing the games and moved them to Bught Park in 1948. In 2006, Inverness hosted Scotland's largest Highland Games with the Masters' World Championships. The games returned to Northern Meeting Park in 2010 and are held there today. Actress Karen Gillan supports Theatre Art Education.

Inverness is known from the Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon. The Tartan Heart Festival in the nearby village of Kiltarlity brings music to the area each summer. BFBS Radio broadcasts on 87.7FM.

Inverness Botanic Gardens is in Bught Park, a short walk from the west bank of the River Ness, near the Ness Islands.

In 2007, the city hosted Highland 2007, celebrating Highland culture, and also the World Highland Games Heavy Championships and European Pipe Band Championships. In 2008, the first Hi-Ex (Highlands International Comics Expo) was held at the Eden Court Theatre.

Inverness is where Macbeth’s castle is set in Shakespeare’s play. The library is in Farraline Park, in a building that was once a school designed by William Robertson.

Media

BBC Scotland has a studio in the city which broadcasts the local version of BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio nan Gàidheal.

Television comes from the Rosemarkie TV transmitter and a local relay transmitter in the city centre.

The radio station Moray Firth Radio (MFR) is based in the city on Scorguie Place.

The Inverness Courier is the local weekly newspaper, published on Fridays.

Language

Inverness used to have many people who spoke Scottish Gaelic. After the 1872 Education Act required schools to teach only English, fewer people spoke Gaelic. Even so, some people still speak Gaelic in parts of the city and nearby rural areas.

Today, Inverness has a good number of Gaelic speakers for its size and a strong Gaelic community. According to the 2011 census, about 4.8% of people in greater Inverness speak Gaelic, compared to 1.1% across Scotland. Bòrd na Gàidhlig, an organisation supporting Gaelic language use, has its main office in Inverness. Inverness hosted the Royal National Mòd in 2014, a festival for Gaelic culture, literature, and music.

Cityscape

Important buildings in the city include Inverness Castle and several churches. The castle was built in 1835. Until 2020, it housed Inverness Sheriff Court; it has now moved to the Inverness Justice Centre.

Inverness Cathedral, dedicated to St Andrew, is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church. The cathedral has square-topped spires because there wasn’t enough money to finish them.

The oldest church is the Old High Church, on St Michael's Mount by the riverside. Its tower dates from medieval times, making it the oldest building still standing in Inverness. It is used by the Church of Scotland congregation of Old High St Stephen's, Inverness.

There is no Catholic cathedral in the area, as the main one is at Aberdeen. The Catholic community has two parish churches: St Mary's, Inverness, founded in 1837, and St Ninian’s, built in the 1960s and 1970s.

Porterfield prison, officially HMP Inverness, serves many areas in Scotland.

Sport and leisure

Inverness is linked to three long walking paths: the Great Glen Way to Fort William, the John o' Groats Trail along the coast, and the South Loch Ness Trail to Fort Augustus.

The main football team in Inverness is Inverness Caledonian Thistle, also called Caley Thistle. They were created in 1994 and have played in top leagues. They play at Caledonian Stadium.

Other sports in Inverness include rugby, with Highland RFC as the local team. Shinty, a traditional Highland game, is popular here. There are also teams for hockey, American football, golf, and cricket in the area.

Notable people

Main category: People from Inverness

Inverness has been home to many interesting people. There are athletes like Megan Keith, who ran for Team GB in the Paris Olympics, and Laura Muir, who won a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics.

The city has also produced actors such as Karen Gillan, known for roles in Doctor Who and the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and authors like Ali Smith and Josephine Tey. Many talented footballers come from Inverness, including Stuart Armstrong and Ryan Christie. Other famous individuals include Charles Fraser Mackintosh, a lawyer and author, and Murray Grigor, a well-known Scottish film-maker.