2019-10-01 Wanderlust

174 wanderlust.co.uk October 2019

1

Dolphinsin

theMorayFirth

There’sestimatedtobe

about 130 bottlenose

dolphinsleapingthrough

theseNorthSeawaters.

Learnmoreaboutthem

attheScottishDolphin

Centrewhereguidesare

onhandtoansweryour

questions.Youcanalso

seeseals,ospreysand

ottersfromthecentre.

2

CullodenBattleield

Itisonly 15 minutes

driveeastfromtownin

thedirectionofthe

airport,soifƒlyinginor

outyoumaywanttovisit

itthen.Otherwisemakeit

yourƒirststopoftheday

tobeatthecrowds;it

opensat9aminsummer

10aminwinter(£11).

3

Dornoch

Aboutanhour’sdrive

fromInverness,TheBarn

OwlBothyinDornochis

agreatweeƒind.Local

artisanscontributeto

thisfantasticlittle

Aladdin’sCave,where

you’llƒindeverything

fromone-of-a-kind

artworkstohandcrafted

jewelleryandceramics.

POCKET GUIDES BRITISH BREAK

Headforthecastle;althoughit

onlydatesbackto 1836 andis

nowacourthouse,itisworth

buyingatickettogoupto

InvernessCastleViewpointto

orientateyourselfwitha 360

degreeviewofthecity.Onyour

wayin,sayhellotothestatueof

FloraMacDonald,whofamously

helped‘BonniePrince’Charles

StuartgettoSkye.

ForaninsightintoHighland

historypopintoInverness

MuseumandArtGallery.You’ll

ƒinditsfamouswolfstoneon

thegroundƒloor;asuperb

Pictishcarvinginstonedating

backtothe6thor7thcentury.

Thenheadupstairstoseethe

spine-tinglingportraitof

CharlesStuartbyforensicartist

HewMorrison.

Wanderthecity’sstreets,

poppingintotheVictorian

ShoppingCentreand

Scotland’slargestsecondhand

bookshop,Leakey’s.

Tryawhisky-tastingatthe

MaltRoom(themaltroom.co.

uk)andthentakeastrollalong

NessWalk.Forƒinediningwith

localproduce,havedinnerat

TorrishintheNessWalkHotel.

Headouttoexplorethe

surroundingarea.Firststopis

searchingforNessieinLoch

Ness.TakeinUrquhartCastleon

aJacobitecruise(www.jacobite.

co.uk)andmarvelatthesizeof

theloch–itreputedlyholdsmore

waterthanallofEnglandand

Wales’lakescombined.

BlackIsleisneitherblack,nor

anisle,butthispeninsulais

goodfornaturelovers.Inspring

andautumnlookoutfor

migratoryseabirds,andwatch

fordolphinsyear-roundwhen

followingthecoastlineto

Cromarty.TaketotheMoray

Forthona2-hourwildlifeRIB

boattripwithecoventures

(ecoventures.co.uk),andthen

enjoylocalseafoodorpizzaat

SutorCreek(sutorcreek.co.uk)

forlunchordinner.

BackinInvernesscatchsome

livesoundsatHootananny

(hootanannyinverness.co.uk).

Gooutofseason:Avoidthe

crowdsandhigherpricesby

avoidingsummer.Apriland

Octoberarerecommended.

Gettingthere:Invernesshas

excellenttrainandairlinks

makingitidealforashortbreak.

BritishAirwaysƒliesfrom

LondonHeathrow.Ortakethe

recentlyrevampedovernight

CaledonianSleeper.

ThenewNessWalkHotel

(pictured)istheƒirstƒive-star

hotelinInverness(nesswalk.

com).Setinaquietlocationjust

afewminuteswalkalongthe

riverfromthecitycentre,this

relaxingretreato¢ersexcellent

serviceandasuperbrestaurant.

Takeatour:GavinNicholson

o¢ersprivateguidedtours

whichcanbetailoredtoyour

interests(invergordontours.

com).Havealovelylunchwith

aglassofwine,visitafew

distilleriesorenjoyawhiskyand

chocolatetastingfromhis

privatecollection.

IF YOU HAVE

MORE TIME...

Theessentials

Day 2

Day 1

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