A Wet Day in Inverness – Castle, Bookshop and Glasshouses
A day by bus and on foot, from Inverness station and back.
The route
When the rain sets in over Inverness and the hills around Loch Ness disappear into cloud, the city still has a full day to give you under its roofs.
This is a day on foot and by bus for exactly that weather, from the station and back. Out at Bught, glasshouses keep bananas and cactus warm whatever the sky is doing. In town there are second-hand books in an old church, a covered Victorian market for lunch, and Highland stories told inside the castle on its hill. It all ends in a café bar beside the river. Between the castle and the café bar you're out in the weather for about half an hour in all, a few minutes at a time, plus two short waits for a bus.
Before you go
Book a 10am slot for the Inverness Castle Experience online: a missed slot needs a new ticket, the time can be changed through the link in the booking email, and the rest of the day suits Tuesday to Saturday in any month, as Leakey's is shut on Sundays and Mondays.
The day
Inverness
A day in Inverness spent going from one warm room to the next, starting high on the castle hill and finishing low on the riverbank at Eden Court. The walks in between are short, and two quick bus rides take the longer stretches, out to the glasshouses at Bught and back towards town.
Inverness Castle
An attraction
It's an 8-minute walk from the station up to Inverness Castle, so set off by a quarter to ten for your 10am slot; by car, the Rose Street multi-storey is 12 minutes' walk away. The red sandstone castle was built as a courthouse and jail, never a fortress. Its Experience is a self-guided journey through Highland stories in sound and light, with music and tapestries in the North Tower. The castle suggests two to three hours; this day gives it two. Start with a look from the roof terrace.
7 min on foot
The Victorian Market
An attraction
Walk 7 minutes down through the town to the Victorian Market; lunch is under its roof. The Market Hall is its food hall, with tables down the middle and stalls that start serving at about noon. Ollie's Pops does toasties and birria tacos. Afterwards, take a slow wander through the covered arcades of small independent shops before you head back out.
5 min on foot
Leakey's Bookshop
An attraction
It's a 5-minute walk to Leakey's Bookshop on Church Street, a former church given over to second-hand books, with more than 100,000 to browse and a spiral stair up to the gallery. On a wet afternoon it's easy to lose an hour here. Check the times of the number 2 bus before you go in: its stop is a 2-minute walk away on Academy Street, so you can browse until it's due. The shop is shut on Sundays and Mondays, so this day suits Tuesday to Saturday, in any month.
10 min by bus, 5 min on foot
Inverness Botanic Gardens
An attraction
Walk 2 minutes to the Academy Street stop for buses heading away from the station and take the 2, signed Leachkin; the 3, also signed Leachkin, doesn't go there. It's a 10-minute bus ride to the Torvean Park and Ride (check the times), then 5 minutes' walk east by the paths to Inverness Botanic Gardens, where bananas, coffee and pineapples grow round a waterfall in the Tropical House. The gardens shut at 4pm and the buses thin out after that, so leave by half past three for a bus back.
7 min by bus, 4 min on foot
Eden Court Theatre and Cinema
An attraction
It's 5 minutes' walk back to the Torvean Park and Ride, where the 2, signed Westhill or Inverness, and the 16, signed Holm, run into town (check the times). A 7-minute bus ride ends at the stop opposite the Highland Council offices on Glenurquhart Road, then 4 minutes' walk brings you to Eden Court. Its riverside Café Bar is a warm place to end the day, with food until last orders at 6.45pm, and its galleries hold free exhibitions. The station is a 15-minute walk back over the Ness Bridge.
If the rain stops
If the rain stops while you're at the Gardens, skip the bus and walk to Eden Court by the river instead. It takes about half an hour, down to the Ness and over the Ness Islands, where Victorian footbridges join wooded islands in the middle of the river, then along the bank to Eden Court's door. After rain the water runs high and fast, so keep to the paths and hold small hands. The walk needs about half an hour of daylight, so from mid-November to January take the bus.
Where to eat
InvernessCafe ArtysansScottish food, local producers
InvernessFig & Thistle BistroModern Scottish bistro
InvernessBlack Isle BarA restaurant
InvernessThe Walrus & CorkscrewA restaurant
InvernessXOKO BakehouseA café
InvernessPERK Coffee & DoughnutsA café
InvernessCoffee AffairA café
InvernessMcBain's by the RiverA restaurant
InvernessThe Rendezvous CaféA café
InvernessCoyote BurgerAmerican-style burgers
InvernessRocpoolA restaurant
InvernessThe Mustard SeedA restaurant
