Hello, this monring I took my parents and drove to Inverness, Highlands, Scotland. It was about 400 miles that I had to drive and it was great. We left at 7:15 and we were in Inverness at 16:45 – so it took us 9.5 hours with 2 stops.
First stop – Alnwick Castle
Although, sadly, we weren’t able to visit Alnwick Castle due to its closure. It reopens at some point in Spring of 2025 (strangely, it’s already spring, where has the time gone?). The castle looked HUGE and it would have been interesting to go up and take a picture from atop of castle (as you know, I am a HUGE viewtop and panoramic photos’ fan). It was good to get out and stretch legs after driving 130 miles non-stop.
Also, we parked in this “free” car park. You, of course, need a parking disc which costs £1. So, if you are a tourist then parking is still paid.
Next stop – random “welcome break” for coffee
The second stop was at the welcome break. We had some lunch and then coffee and off we went. Final 160 miles non-stop. There isn’t much to say really. A9 was actually nice, random cars here and there but dual carriageway let me pass them all. Only about, perhaps, final 20 miles to Inverness was single carriageway road with some random slow-asses but other than that, most drive was a pure pleasure.
Finally, Inverness
OK, finally, arrived at Inverness. Checked in. Went to Inverness Cathedral. It was disappointingly small. From the outsidde, it looks BIG. However, inside, there is only main hall available and not much else.
Then we went to Inverness Castle which was closed. Again, I was a bit disappointed as I thought I would be able to climb atop and take some nice panoramic pictures of entire Inverness and lots of Highlands but I couldn’t … then we went looking for some food.
Encore Inverness
We found Encore Inverness and it was amazing. The fish and chips I had was super amazing, probably best fish and chips I have ever had in Scotland. Would highly recommed it.
So that sums up my first day of Scottish Highlands adventure. Tomorrow will be a lot more interesting as I will drive to Glencoe and do some detouring for some amazing views! Also, less driving and more stops. Can’t wait.
