City Breaks In Inverness And A Selection Of Top Class Tourist Attractions You Must See

Inverness, a city in the Scottish Highlands  is situated in some of the most awe inspiring countryside in the United Kingdom. In and around the city are many places associated with historic Scotland, often these places witnessed a great deal of suffering and violence. Happily the city of Inverness has a amazing collection of visitor attractions (and the number is always on the increase). In the following paragraphs I introduce readers to 3 places to visit in Inverness Beauly Priory, Inverness Museum & Art Gallery and Inverness Castle:

Beauly Priory

Monks, from the Valliscaulian order, set up a community at Beauly Priory in 13th century. Sadly nobody has the ability to say the accurate date of the foundation of the settlement but it is commonly accepted that is was roughly around 1230. At that time the patron, and landowner, of Beauly, was Sir John Bisset, whose lands were almagamated with the Fraser’s of Lovat. The French monks, together with Sir John, are those who named the place Beauly, from the French ‘beau lieu’ meaning ‘beautiful place’. Sadly, the priory was abandoned after the Reformation and the stone was thieved for use the construction of other structures. Today the ruins of Beauly Priory are in the hands of Historic Scotland as they were handed to the State in the year 1913.

Inverness Castle

There have been many structures on the site of Inverness Castle through the centuries, evidence shows that the site had a structure there as far back as 1057. King Robert I of Scotland almost destroyed the very first Inverness Castle. The castle which sits on the site today was built and designed , in 1836, by William Burn. The magnificent building, of red sandstone, sits on a cliff looking down onto the the cathedral on the opposite side and the River Ness. King James I(of Scotland) held parliament at Inverness Castle in 1427, and instructed all the Northern Chieftains to be in attendance. Alarmingly 3 of these chieftains were later killed for their support of an independent monarchy.

Inverness Museum & Art Gallery

Situated in Inverness’s town center is the recently renovated Inverness Museum and Art Gallery which is well worth a visit especially if it is raining. Inside the museum visitors can investigate Scottish History and learn about how the Highlands are associated with the rest of the world. It is also possible to learn about the folk of the Highlands, their traditions and culture. There are a lot of different collections featuring, costumes, textiles, archaeology, wildlife, crafts and fine arts.

If you are taking a vacation in Great Britain this year and you plan to spend some of your time in Scotland, have a think about spending some time staying in Inverness. Finding Inverness hotel accommodation online is relatively easy as the vast majority of establishments have their own web site.  Hotels in Inverness, small hotels, guest houses and bed and breakfasts are always of excellent quality and the Highlands are very well know for hospitality of the highest order, so you can be sure of have a most incredible time.