B&B and Guest House Accommodation in Inverness
Local Sightseeing & Events

Places to Visit in Inverness Inverness Castle was built on the site of an earlier fortress in 1835 and sits on a low cliff overlooking the river. Today it houses the Sheriff's Court. Saint Andrew's Cathedral sits on the riverside almost opposite the castle. It has no spires as the funds ran out before they could be completed. The font is a copy of Thorwalden's font in Copenhagen Cathedral. Look out for the Russian gold icons. The teashop in the old schoolhouse is open from Monday to Saturday 10.30am to 3.30pm in the summer months.

Walk along the river banks from the castle and you'll find the Ness Islands where you can escape from the hustle and bustle of the shops. Cross the river on the little bridges and you can visit Bught Park. Close by between the ice rink and the sports centre is the Floral Hall - a sub-tropical horticultural extravaganza with small waterfall, fish and alsorts of plants/trees (open all year round). Continue into the children's play area, miniature train and boating lake in Whin Park. If you walk further you can go along the picturesque Caledonian Canal heading towards Loch Ness.

Inverness Area Loch Ness is one of the most popular places to visit in this part of the Highlands. Take a guided coach tour, drive around the loch yourself or go on a boat trip from Inverness, Drumnadrochit or Fort Augustus. The atmospheric ruins of Urquhart Castle are open to the public all year and there are several other local attractions including the visitors centres about Loch Ness and its famous monster. For a scenic drive, don't forget the less-travelled southern shore of the loch or head west into the beautiful scenery of Glen Affric.

There's lots more to explore around Inverness including Culloden Battlefield, the Clava Cairns, Cawdor Castle, Brodie Castle, Fort George, Moniack Wineries, the Black Isle, Aviemore, the Cairngorm mountains and historic towns such as Nairn, Elgin, Beauly, Dingwall and Strathpeffer.

Inverness is an excellent base for touring if you wish to go further afield - Fort William, the Isle of Skye, Wester Ross and Orkney are all accessible on day trips. See our Transport & Travel Page for info on guided coach tours if you don't have a car.

Local Events in Inverness

In July and August, there are various events for tourists in Inverness city. These include Highland Dancing on a mini-stage in High Street on Thursday evenings at 6pm and Pipe Band performances on Tuesday evenings at 8pm.
You are also likely to see a piper or two busking in the streets of Inverness and sometimes other musical entertainment around the Eastgate shopping centre.

The Farmers' Market is usually held on the first Saturday of each month, with stalls of local produce (meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, cheese, homebaking) in the Eastgate pedestrian area of Inverness city centre.

Events Calendar:

Events in 2013:

The Royal British Legion Pipes and Drums Band will be playing in front of Inverness Castle at 7pm every Tuesday evening in July and August.

• 11 May: BID Classic Car Show in Inverness City Centre
• late May: Loch Ness Film Festival, various venues
• June - September: Inverness Summer Festival
• early June: Northern Roots Festival at Bogbain Farm
• 7 - 9 June: Rockness annual music festival at Dores (Loch Ness)
• 29 June: Armed Forces Day - Northern Meeting Park
• 30 June: Marymas Fayre - Northern Meeting Park
• 11 - 14 July: Scottish Open at Castle Stuart Golf Links
• 20 July: Inverness Highland Games and Armed Forces Day. Web site includes video and photos from previous Games, as well as electronic postcards. A DVD is available.
• 31 July - 1 August: Black Isle Show at Mannsfield Showground, Muir of Ord (tel: 01463 870870). This is the largest agricultural show in the North of Scotland. It attracts over 2,000 cattle, horse and sheep entries, more than 300 trade stands and over 25,000 visitors to the show each year. There is plenty to see and do, craft fair, food fair, 'On the Farm' exhibition for the kids, agricultural stands, vintage rally and sheep shearing.
• 2 - 3 August: Highland Field Sports Fair at Moy Hall (between Aviemore and Inverness). Tel: 01463 232618.
• 2 - 3 August: Belladrum - Tartan Heart Festival on the Belladrum Estate, by Beauly. Family-orientated outdoor festival of rock, country, blues and world music.
• 7 - 10 August: Inverness Book Festival
• 10 August: Runrig concert 'party on the moor' at the Black Isle Showground near Muir of Ord
• 17 August: Monster Swim in Loch Ness
• 24 August: Loch Ness Duathlon (road or mountain bike cycling and running) in aid of the British Heart Foundation
• 24 August - Glenurquhart Highland Games at Drumnadrochit, Loch Ness
• 24 - 25 August: Inverness Flower Show at Inverness High School, Montague Row, Inverness
• 4 - 8 September: Nairn Book & Arts Festival
• 5 - 6 September: Northern Meeting Piping Competition at Eden Court
• 6 - 15 September: Blas Traditional Music Festival (various venues around the Highlands)
• 7 September: Inverness Raft and Duck Race. This popular event was first staged in Inverness in 1978 and has since become a firm favourite with both locals and visitors. Organised by CHILDREN 1ST - Tel: 01463 794477.
• 8 September: Kirking of the Council - Town House & Old High church
• 29 September: Loch Ness Marathon plus 5K and 10K River Ness fun runs.
• October: Highland Archaeology Festival - events throughout the region. Conference at Eden Court Theatre.
• 10-12 October: Inverness Street Theatre Festival
• October: Blazin' in Beauly (music festival)
• 25 - 26 October: Ness Islands Halloween Show
• 5 November: Bonfire and Fireworks Display in Bught Park
• November & December: Inverness Winter Festivals
• 6 - 10 November: Inverness Film Festival at Eden Court
• 10 November: Remembrance Day servie at the War Memorial
• 17 November: Christmas Lights switch-on outside the Town House
• 13 - 15 December: Winter Wonderland at Whin Park
• 31 December: Red Hot Highland Fling party for Hogmanay

Looking ahead to 2014:

• late January: Aviemore Sled dog rally organised by the Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain in Glenmore Forest Park
• late February: Inverness Fiddlers' Rally at Eden Court
• late February - early March: The Inverness Music Festival
• mid March: Inverness Half Marathon
• BID Easter Treasure Hunt in Inverness City Centre
• early April: Inverness Whisky Festival at Bogbain Farm
• 12 - 14 September: Highland Homecoming 2014 including the Highland Clans gathering, Kirking Parade and the inaugural Inbhir Nis Homecoming Highland Games (featururing the 2014 Masters World Championships) plus the climax of the 2014 Blas Festival and Shinty's Camanachd Cup Final.

For additional events listings, see:

• The Inverness City Advertiser - detailed events listings covering music, nightclubs, cinema, theatre, sports, exhibitions, restaurants, etc.
• whatsoninverness
• invernessGiGs
• Events listings supplied by the Highlands of Scotland Tourist Board
• Visit mi inverness for savings, discounts and deals on restaurants, retail outlets, visitor attractions and local events