Inverness is a city in northern Scotland. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland. It lies near the site of the 18th century Battle of Culloden and at the northeastern extremity of the Great Glen (An Gleann Mòr), where the River Ness enters the Inverness/Moray Firth making it a natural hub for various transport links. It is the northernmost city in the United Kingdom. A settlement was established by the 6th century with the first royal charter being granted by Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim (King David I) in the 12th century. The Gaelic king, Mac Bethad mac Findláich (MacBeth) nicknamed Rígh Dearg (The Red King) held a castle within the city where he ruled as Mormaer of Moray and Ross.
The population of Inverness increased by over 10% from 1991–2001 and from 1997-2007 with an estimated population in 2008 of 56,660. Inverness is a fast growing city, with a quarter of the Highland population living in or around the city and is ranked fifth out of 189 British cities for its quality of life, the highest of any Scottish city. Inverness is twinned with one German city, Augsburg and two French towns, La Baule and Saint-Valery-en-Caux.
Inverness College is the main campus for the University of the Highlands and Islands and offers one of the widest ranging curricula in Scotland. With around 8,500 students, Inverness College hosts around a quarter of all the University of the Highlands and Islands’ students, and 30% of those studying to degree level. Most of the traditional industries such as distilling have been replaced by high-tech businesses, such as the design and manufacture of diabetes diagnostic kits. Highlands and Islands Enterprise has partly funded the Centre for Health Science with a view to attracting more businesses in the medical and medical devices business to the area. Inverness is home to Scottish Natural Heritage following that body’s relocation from Edinburgh under the auspices of the Scottish Government’s decentralisation strategy. SNH provides a large number of jobs in the area.
Important buildings in Inverness include Inverness Castle, Inverness College and various churches. The castle was built in 1835 on the site of its medieval predecessor. It is now a sheriff court. Inverness Cathedral, dedicated to St Andrew, is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church and seat of the ordinary of the Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness. The cathedral has a curiously square-topped look to its spires, as funds ran out before they could be completed. The oldest church is the Old High Church, on St Michael’s Mount by the riverside, a site perhaps used for worship since Celtic times. The church tower dates from mediaeval times, making it the oldest surviving building in Inverness. It is used by the Church of Scotland congregation of Old High St Stephen’s, Inverness, and it is the venue for the annual Kirking of the Council, which is attended by local councillors. Inverness College is the hub campus for the UHI Millennium Institute. Porterfield Prison, officially HMP Inverness, serves the courts of the Highlands, Western Isles, Orkney Isles and Moray, providing secure custody for all remand prisoners and short term adult prisoners, both male and female (segregated).
Loch Ness is the second largest Scottish loch by surface area at 56.4 km2 (21.8 sq mi) after Loch Lomond, but due to its great depth, it is the largest by volume. Its deepest point is 230 m (755 ft), deeper than the height of London’s BT Tower at 189 m (620 ft) and deeper than any other loch except Loch Morar. It contains more fresh water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined, and is the largest body of water on the Great Glen Fault, which runs from Inverness in the north to Fort William in the south.
At Drumnadrochit is “The Loch Ness Centre” which examines the controversy through the natural history of Loch Ness. Boat cruises operate from various locations on the loch shore, giving visitors the chance to look for the “monster”. Urquhart Castle is located on the Western shore, 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Drumnadrochit. Lighthouses are located at Lochend (Bona Lighthouse) and Fort Augustus.
