Oh my, Hello Inverness!
I’ll be honest, the reason or the real reason why my friend Mari and I had an interest in Scotland all of a sudden was because of the TV show Outlander, which we loved so much a year or two ago. We were obessed with the Battle of Culloden and the stones as well as the love story and the history. Afterwards, we just kept on discussing Scotland and how amazing it is to visit it someday. So we made side trips in between the places I wanted to see for ballet and for some work on this trip.
First impression, COLD. (Haha) unfortunately for me I am just always cold, or I just easily feel cold almost all the time. Even in a country that is normally around 30 degrees celsius I could probably wear a jacket on a cool day because I just don’t deal well with cold weather. But the wind is definitely harsh there even towards the end of July, they call that Scottish weather, when the wind is strong and its raining sideways in possibly the most inconvenient way.
Some Personal Tips:
1. You will need a car:
Its not even an option not to have a car. Inverness is clearly a car society even if there are cabs and or tours around. If you’re young and you can still drive, I would recommend getting a car so you can save extra cash. I rented a car on booking.com and had some problems with the local company there but eventually we did get our car except it was manual, thankfully I knew how to drive a manual car. It was only 25 pounds per day and you just had to return it with a full tank of gas. It was well worth it because if you took the train or a cab and or a bus you would easily spend 20 pounds going to the airport or 50-70 pounds getting a tour around town or going sightseeing. We were just lucky that the place we stayed at, the couple was kind enough to always drive us for a lower fee, but if you’re not so lucky a cab ride can easily turn into 30 pounds and 100 pounds charged for tours.
Long Drives: We definitely took a long drive out of town to SKYE. There are plenty of routes for long drives and its a bit tricky if its your first time driving in Scotland because the cars do drive around 80-100kph and its really fast for a city girl like me who is used to driving only around Manila and no where else.
We also drove to a few small towns, I would suggest skipping the fairy pools because most of them are gone due to safety hazzards. Bring your hiking shoes so you don’t slip on stones. Brothers point was my favorite because of the sheep and the most breathtaking view of the sea by the road. Scotland is truly beautiful when you’ve lived in the city all your life. When there is nothing but the road and the green and the sky, the world seems so big and makes you feel so small. ** Tearing up here haha ** the dramatics aside, I really do recommend doing a drive out. We left our house at around 8am and got home about the same time in the evening at around 8pm.
2. Where to stay
So the question is, will I stay inside the city or outside the city? Of course if you want convenience, you can stay in the town center of Inverness. I personally found plenty of hostels and hotels around Inverness that you could choose from. But we opted to stay outside the city near the highway, just because the place we found was really so beautiful and it came with breakfast. For 2 people and 5 nights it was also not that bad, and being 2 girls traveling by ourselves technically, we really wanted to choose places that were okay and safe for us also and more of a Bnb rather than a hotel, it was our first travel to Europe.
3. In Town suggestions
According to the owners Hootanannys in old town Inverness is the place to be. On the weekends they would have live shows and the drinks were good. Otherwise, we didn’t go around much to the other food stores. I did enjoy the souveniers and of course the walk around the town bridges. Its a very quaint old town, it reminds me a bit of the baltics.
Where we stayed: Birchwood House B&B
I will give a 10 star recommendation for this place we stayed. I never felt more at home and more well rested than staying at the beautiful bed and breakfast in inverness. It was owned by a lovely couple who made us breakfast every morning, and they had everything from a beautiful garden to a lovely library. Also had a common area to sit around in, they had a cat and dog which made me feel a bit homesick because I missed my pets. The bathroom and bedroom were so neat and clean, fresh towels and linens were provided for us every end of the day. Coming home to this place was even better than coming home to a hotel, because it really did feel like home.
To end your trip, don’t forget to pass by the Culloden Battlefield, the Harry Potter bridge and the stones nearby. There are a lot of things to do and see in Inverness. A whiskey tour or two perhaps for those who love to drink ** like myself hehe ** the trip was definitely one for the books and one to remember and I would love to go back. Travelling is always fun with good company, I wonder where my life will take me to next.
Much love,
Lina
The Backpacking Ballerina 
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