Inverness: A River Walk

A river seems a magic thing.

A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself.

~ Laura Gilpin

In Inverness we stayed in a hotel on the river. It was a lovely place to be and to wander. Gulls and other birds fished and scavenged. The banks were covered with wildflowers. Upriver were islands connected by foot bridges to the other bank.

A series of islands, the Ness Islands, were connected by foot bridges from one bank to the other.

Some of us skipped the trip to Loch Ness - instead we crossed the footbridges and visited the Botanical Guardians, ate, and wandered back along the river again.

Old insulators embedded in this tree trunk

Downstream was the castle (in renovation as a community center or something) and a mercantile area called the Victorian Market. I headed that direction hoping to visit the antique store The antique store was closed (bummer), but the bookstore was open. It was called "Leakey's" which resonated with me* so I spent a little time there. While perusing the prints I overheard two young French women. They had been looking at a print about La Rochelle.** And as they put it away I asked to see it. We then had a lovely chat about travel and school and writing down their adventures.

Leakey's Book Shop

It's a big place and packed with books.

But I found the shelves a little chaotic. It was difficult to actually find anything.

Yet there was the print - a battle off the coast of La Rochelle.

I shared that I'd started traveling many years ago (at 21) and they exclaimed, "oh, we are 21!" It was one of those lovely moments that can happen if you are open and curious. They had questions about how one traveled without cell phones, credit cards, the internet, etc. I explained that one must trust one's instinct and know that most people will be helpful...and write home regularly. And I complemented them on traveling with a friend. Solo travel is hard no matter the era.

So, here are some scenes from the walk down-river and back (and whatever else captured my eye along the way).

Even our short visit made it clear that Inverness would be a great place to stay for a few days and investigate further.