The Great Glen - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 204

Rocpool Restaurant 1 Ness Walk T 01463 717274.
One of the city's excellent, smartish dining options, with a
contemporary setting, attentive staff and deliciously rich

food. The escalope of calves liver with roasted purple figs is
£19.95. Mon-Sat noon-2.30pm & 5.45-10pm.

DRINKING AND ENTERTAINMENT
PUBS
Blackfriars Highland Pub 93-95 Academy St.
Popular pub where you can enjoy folk music most Friday
and Saturday nights, plus a selection of real ale, cheap
steak and gravy pies (£2.25), and bigger pub meals.
Mon-Thurs 11am-midnight, Fri 11am-1am, Sat
11am-12.30am & Sun 12.30-11pm; food served
daily 11am-9pm.
Hootananny's 67 Church St T 01463 233651. Lively
watering hole with hearty food (including a butternut
squash and chickpea casserole served with cheese scones).
On Saturday afternoons there are ceilidhs (2.30-4.30pm).

Mon-Thurs noon-1am, Fri & Sat noon-3am, Sun
6.30pm-midnight.
No 27 27 Castle St. Skinny bar/restaurant with a wide
range of beers (there's a new guest ale every Sunday) and
salmon fishcakes for £8.50. Mon-Thurs 11am-11pm, Fri
& Sat 11am-midnight, Sun 12.30-11pm.

LIVE MUSIC
The Ironworks 122b Academy St W ironworksvenue
.com. Large live venue with space for a thousand music fans.
The place to come for touring bands, stand-up comedy and
the occasional club night (see website for events).

3

DIRECTORY
Car rental Budget, Railway Terrace, behind the train
station ( T 01463 713333).
Hospital Raigmore Hospital ( T 01463 704000) is at Old
Perth Rd on the southeastern outskirts of town, close to
the A9.
Internet Inverness Library, near the bus station, offers
free internet access (ID required). Mon & Tues 9am-6.30pm,

Wed 10am-6.30pm, Thurs 9am-8pm, Fri 9am-6.30pm,
Sat 9am-5pm.
Laundry New City Laundrette, 17 Young St T 01463
242507.
Post o ce 14-16 Queensgate (Mon & Wed-Sat 9am-
5.30pm, Tues 9.30am-5.30pm).

Around Inverness
A string of worthwhile sights punctuates the approach to Inverness along the A96,
the main route from Aberdeen. The low-key resort of Nairn , with its long white-sand
beaches and championship golf course, stands within striking distance of several
monuments, including whimsical Cawdor Castle , best known for its role in
Shakespeare's Macbeth , and Fort George , one of several impressive Hanoverian bastions
erected in the wake of the Jacobite rebellion. The infamous battle and ensuing massacre
that ended Bonnie Prince Charlie's uprising took place on the outskirts of Inverness at
Culloden , where a visitor centre and memorial stones beside a heather-clad moor recall
the gruesome events of 1746.
Northeast of Inverness is the Moray Firth , one of the UK's best locations for
spotting dolphins (see p.108). Closer to the city, where this inlet merges with the
River Ness, is the start of the Beauly Firth, a sheltered sea loch bounded by the
Black Isle in the north and the wooded hills of the Aird to the south. Heading
northwest from Inverness, most traffic uses Kessock Bridge (the A9) to cross the
Moray Firth; the A862, which skirts the shoreline and the mud flats, offers a slower,
more scenic alternative.

Craig Phadrig
3 miles west of the city centre • Stagecoach bus #2 from Church St to Scorguie (Mon-Sat every 20min; 10min) then walk the final
half-mile west
West of the town, on the top of Craig Phadrig hill, there's a vitrified Iron Age fort ,
reputed to be where the Pictish king Brude received St Columba in the sixth century.