Inverness

The sun finally emerged on our last day in Inverness, and it was a beautiful day!

 We were staying at Kincraig Castle Hotel, which is actually a manor house built in the 1700s by the Dalmore Clan, and converted into a hotel in the 30s-40s.  It was a beautiful and reasonable place to stay.  And Dog Friendly!!! 








It has a large lawn out front that I could take Bentley and Pepper out on to run around like crazy.  Bentley got so excited, he ran back into the hotel, through the lobby, and into the dining room to help himself to breakfast.  Guess it smelled good to him 

 It has a lovely lounge, where we had some terrific Dalmore Whiskey there each night.










The image of the deer is a royal image that was lent to the Dalmore Clan by the Scottish King in honor of their service to the throne.  That is why it appears on all the Dalmore Whiskey Bottles.
















 Later that day, we visited Cawdor Castle just outside Invernes, which is famous for its connection to Shakespeare's play, MacBeth.















 

 







Now this is is a real castle, complete with a drawbridge and a maze. The Dowager Countess still resides in the castle, and we ran into her walking her dog on the grounds.  Sadly her dog is the only dog allowed on the grounds. 

We also wandered around downtown Inverness, which is built around the river that flows down from Loch Ness.










It can be a touch gritty.  But with the right weather, the town can be quite lovely with some beautiful historic buildings and churches.







The town hall is a wonderful neo-gothic building with spires and high arched windows.

Inverness even has a castle, but today it is the Police Headquarters.  Still it is nice to see a grand building like this being used for some public purpose.