Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
CAWDOR CASTLE
By bus/train/taxi
There is no longer a bus service from
Inverness to the castle. To reach it, take a train or one of the
frequent buses from Inverness to Nairn (several per hour;
40min), where you can pick up a taxi for the final six miles
(around £14). Book ahead with Taxi 24/7 Nairn (
T
01667
459595) and a driver will meet you at the bus station. A
cheaper but less reliable option is Nairn's Dial-a-Bus service
(
T
01667 456066), which must be booked by 6pm the day
before you wish to travel.
Fort George
Thirteen miles northeast of Inverness, near Ardersier • Daily: April-Sept 9.30am-5.30pm; Oct-March 9.30am-4.30pm • £8.90; HS •
T
01667 460 232
Eight miles of undulating coastal farmland separate Cawdor Castle from
Fort George
,
an old Hanoverian bastion with walls a mile long, considered by military architectural
historians to be one of the finest fortifications in Europe. Crowning a sandy spit that
juts into the middle of the Moray Firth, it was built between 1747 and 1769 as a base
for George II's army, in case the Highlanders should attempt to rekindle the Jacobite
flame. By the time of its completion, however, the uprising had been firmly quashed
and the fort has been used ever since as barracks; note the armed sentries at the main
entrance and the periodic crack of live gunfire from the nearby firing ranges.
Walking on the northern, grass-covered casemates, which look out into the estuary,
you may be lucky enough to see a school of bottle-nosed
dolphins
(see box p.419)
swimming in with the tide. his is also a good spot for birdwatching: a colony of
kittiwakes occupies the fort's slate rooftops.
11
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
FORT GEORGE
By bus
There aren't any direct bus services from Inverness
or Nairn to Fort George. As with Cawdor Castle (see p.419),
the best bet is to take a bus or train from Inverness to Nairn,
where you can pick up a taxi or local Dial-a-Bus service for
the final stretch.
Nairn
One of the driest and sunniest places in the whole of Scotland,
NAIRN
, sixteen miles east of
Inverness, began its days as a peaceful community of fishermen and farmers. he former
spoke Gaelic, the latter English, allowing James VI to boast that a town in his kingdom was
so large that people at one end of the main street could not understand those at the other
end. Nairn became popular in Victorian times, when the train line offered a convenient
link to its revitalizing sea air and mild climate, and today the 11,000-strong population still
relies on tourism, with all the ingredients for a traditional seaside holiday - sandy beach,
ice-cream shops and fish-and-chip stalls. he town has two championship golf courses, and
homas Telford's
harbour
is filled with leisure craft rather than fishing boats.
Nairn Museum
Viewfield House, King Street • May-Oct Mon-Fri 10am-4.30pm, Sat 10am-1pm (last admission 30min before closing) • £3 •
T
01667
456791,
W
nairnmuseum.co.uk
he
Nairn Museum
provides a general insight into the history and prehistory of the
area; the
Fishertown Room
illustrates the parsimonious and puritanical life of the
fishing families, while the weapon-filled
Military Room
includes information on the
battles of Culloden and Auldearn.
ARRIVAL AND GETTING AROUND
NAIRN
By train
Nairn's railway station is just south of the centre,
where Chattan Drive meets Cawdor Street.
Destinations Aberdeen (every 1-2hr; 2hr); Elgin (every
1-2hr; 25min); Forres (every 1-2hr; 10min); Inverness
(every 1-2hr; 20min).
By bus
Buses arrive and depart from a car park on King
Street, just south of the police station.
Destinations
Aberdeen (hourly; 3hr 15min); Elgin (every
