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 as far back as 5,800 years ago. It became an important place 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, about 40,969 people lived there, but by 2016, the number had risen to 63,320. 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

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

Between 2009 and 2010, people found old tools and pieces of buildings showing 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, which 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, including one of the earliest places in Scotland where people worked with iron. They even found old brooches that came from the Roman Empire, showing 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 try to convince the Pictish king, Brude, to follow his beliefs. St Columba visited 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, which is now where the Old High Church stands.

Medieval

In the 1100s, King David I gave Inverness its first official document making it an important town. Macbeth, the king made famous by Shakespeare’s play, ruled from a castle in Inverness. Later, King Malcolm III is said to have built Inverness Castle after destroying an older castle where Macbeth’s father was killed.

Inverness was a busy place but often faced attacks. In the 1400s, leaders from the Hebrides islands raided the town. Battles happened nearby, like the Battle of Harlaw in 1411, where a leader named Donald of Islay burned part of the town. Inverness was also a strong place for some leaders and saw many fights between different families.

Post-medieval

In 1562, Mary, Queen of Scots tried to enter Inverness Castle but was refused by the person in charge, who was loyal to someone else. 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 who came 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, ending a big conflict.

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 to help protect the sea with special mines.

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 that come from the Gaelic language. This is because the area was mostly spoken in Gaelic until the late 1800s.

There are several special springs near Inverness that people used to believe had healing powers. For example, the "Red Spring" was thought to help with certain health issues, and other springs were known for treating skin problems or curing all sorts of illnesses. 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 located where the River Ness begins, flowing from Loch Ness, and near the Moray Firth. The city sits at the end of the Great Glen valley, with Loch Ness, Loch Ashie, and Loch Duntelchaig close by to the west. The Caledonian Canal passes through this area, linking Loch Ness, Loch Oich, and Loch Lochy.

The Ness Islands are a public park made up of two wooded islands joined by footbridges, popular since the 1840s. Craig Phadraig is a hill that was once an ancient fort, offering clear hiking paths through the woods.

Inverness rests on the Great Glen Fault. Small earthquakes happen about every three years, often going unnoticed, with the last one felt in Inverness happening 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, and 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 fairly 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 all of the Highland region. It opened in 1970, replacing older buildings from World War II. 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, including The Diabetes Institute, 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 of the old jobs in places like distilling have changed. Now, Inverness has new kinds of work, especially in making tools to help people with diabetes, thanks to a company called LifeScan. A group called Highlands and Islands Enterprise helped create a special place for health-related businesses. Inverness also has many jobs because Scottish Natural Heritage moved there from Edinburgh.

The city centre is on the east side of a river, connected to the west side by several bridges, including the Greig Street Bridge. The old part of the city has streets like High Street and Church Street, with a busy market called the Victorian Market in the middle. The main train station is very close to this market. Over the years, a big 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 and is expected to help bring more jobs and students to Inverness.

Transport

Roads

Inverness is connected to the Black Isle by the Kessock Bridge over the Moray Firth. 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), is split into two parts.

In 2008, the Scottish Government decided not to include the full Inverness bypass in its plans for the next 20 years, but it did include the eastern part of the route. This part will connect the A9 at Inshes to the A96. The western part of the bypass, which would cross the Caledonian Canal and the River Ness, was not included at first but later received funding. Construction on the western section began in June 2019 and was completed in August 2021, after some delays.

The eastern section of the bypass avoids a busy roundabout called the Inshes Roundabout. It links the Southern Distributor to the A9 and the A96, separating important traffic from local traffic. It will also support new developments like shopping areas, business parks, a university campus, and new homes. The western section aims to connect the A9 to the A82, avoiding the city centre by crossing the River Ness and the Caledonian Canal. After careful planning, it was decided to build a bridge over the River Ness and a swing bridge over the Caledonian Canal. This allows traffic to flow smoothly.

In 2008, the Scottish Government announced plans to improve the A9 road to help the economy and protect jobs. Work was done at Moy, Carrbridge, and Bankfoot, including creating overtaking lanes and improving junctions. In 2011, the government planned to upgrade the entire A9 road to Inverness to a dual carriageway by 2025, but this was delayed to 2035. In 2011, there were also plans to upgrade the A96 road between Inverness and Aberdeen to a dual carriageway, but this project has faced delays and changes.

Buses and coaches

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

National Express Coaches runs an overnight service to London Victoria via Edinburgh, taking about 15 hours.

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 and is currently represented by Angus MacDonald of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.
• One area elects a representative to the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood. This is called Inverness and Nairn and is currently represented by Fergus Ewing, a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Scottish National Party.

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

Historically, there have been several areas that elected representatives with “Inverness” in their names, but these are no longer used today.

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 centre for bagpipe players and lovers, since every September the city hosts the Northern Meeting. The Inverness cape, a garment worn in the rain by pipers the world over, is not necessarily made in the city.

Another major event in calendar is the annual City of Inverness Highland Games. The event can trace its roots back to one of the first Highland Games staged in the modern era; the True Highland Games which was staged in 1822 by members of the Northern Meeting Society. In 1864, the Northern Meeting Society built the world's first Highland Games stadium, the Northern Meeting Park. The last Northern Meeting Highland Games was staged in 1938 and, following the Second World War, responsibility for the organisation of the annual event passed to the Town Council who moved the event to Bught Park in 1948. In 2006, Inverness hosted Scotland's biggest ever Highland Games over two days in July, featuring the Masters' World Championships, the showcase event for heavies aged over 40 years. The first year that the Masters' World Championships had been held outside the United States was 2006 and it attracted many top heavies from around the world to the Inverness area. The Masters World Championships returned in 2009 when it was staged as part of the Homecoming celebrations. In 2010, the City of Inverness Highland Games returned to Northern Meeting Park where it remains to this day. Actress Karen Gillan is the ambassador for Theatre Art Education.

Inverness has gained attention for being featured in the Outlander novel series by author Diana Gabaldon. The Tartan Heart Festival in the nearby village of Kiltarlity, is a summer festival that brings a variety of music to the area. BFBS Radio broadcasts on 87.7FM as part of its UK Bases network.

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

In 2007, the city hosted Highland 2007, a celebration of the culture of the Highlands, and also hosted 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 the location of Macbeth's castle in Shakespeare's play. The library is located in Farraline Park, housed in what was originally the Bell's school, designed by William Robertson in the Greek Revival style. The school was built with help from a £10,000 donation from Dr Andrew Bell in 1837.

Media

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

Television signals are received from the Rosemarkie TV transmitter and the local relay transmitter situated in the centre of the city.

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

The Inverness Courier is the local weekly newspaper which publishes on Fridays.

Language

Historically, Inverness had a strong Scottish Gaelic speaking population, with most people having Gaelic as their first language. From around the end of the 19th century, especially after the 1872 Education Act, which required school attendance and only English to be taught, Inverness saw a decline in Gaelic speakers like the rest of the Highlands. Despite Gaelic gradually falling out of everyday use, it is still spoken locally in some areas and dialects. By the end of the 19th century, some rural areas near Inverness still had people who only spoke Gaelic.

The number of Gaelic speakers changed over the years. In 1881, about 23% of Inverness people spoke Gaelic, rising to 30% by 1891, then falling again. Today, Inverness has a relatively high number of Gaelic speakers for its size and a lively Gaelic community. According to the 2011 census, about 4.8% of people in greater Inverness speak Gaelic, compared to 1.1% nationwide. Bòrd na Gàidhlig, an organisation supporting Gaelic language use across Scotland, has its main office in Inverness. Inverness also hosted the Royal National Mòd in 2014, a festival celebrating Gaelic culture, literature, and music.

Cityscape

Important buildings in the city include Inverness Castle and several churches. The castle was built in 1835 on the site of its older medieval version. Until 2020, it housed Inverness Sheriff Court; this has now moved to the Inverness Justice Centre.

Inverness Cathedral, dedicated to St Andrew, is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church and seat of the ordinary of the Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness. The cathedral has a square-topped look to its spires because funds ran out before they could be completed.

The oldest church is the Old High Church, on St Michael's Mount by the riverside, a site perhaps used for worship since old times. The church tower dates from medieval times, making it the oldest surviving building in Inverness. It is used by the Church of Scotland congregation of Old High St Stephen's, Inverness and it is the venue for the annual Kirking of the council, which is attended by local councillors.

There is no Catholic cathedral in the area, as the main cathedral (St Mary) is at Aberdeen. The Catholic community is served by two parish churches: St Mary's, Inverness founded in 1837, is the older of the two and the first Catholic parish founded and built in Inverness after nearly 300 years of ending religious limits in 1829. St Ninian's was built during the 1960s and 1970s.

Porterfield prison, officially HMP Inverness, serves the courts of the Highlands, Western Isles, Orkney Isles and Moray, providing secure custody for all remand prisoners and short-term adult prisoners, both male and female, who are separated.

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, winning important cups and competing in European matches. 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, and Inverness often hosts big shinty matches. 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 the 10,000 metres for Team GB in the Paris Olympics, and Laura Muir, who won a silver medal in the 1500 metres sprint at the Tokyo Olympics.

The city also has 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.