Welcome to the happiest place in Scotland!

During the Summer Holidays I have been staying with my parents back in Glasgow. This week my mum had to go to Inverness for work and she suggested that my brother and I came with her to explore the North of Scotland. Being slightly bored of the Central belt I jumped at the chance to see something other than my small suburban town outside Glasgow. For anyone that doesn't know, Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is a relatively new city, only gaining its city status in 2001, and with a population of just over 62,000 nearly one third of the Highland's population live in the city. Recently it was voted the 'Happiest place in Scotland' so I thought it was well worth a visit! (If you want to know more about Inverness visit its Wikipedia Page here)

The weather in Inverness was mixed. The days would start fairly overcast but the sun would attempt to peek out. Despite the greyness in the skies it wasn't freezing cold and only a light jacket was required to protect yourself from the infrequent spits of rain. Saying all this, the temperature did reach 21 degrees on Tuesday and I managed to get a bit of light sunburn on the back of my neck. (I am, however, Snow White so burning is just the norm for me)

We stayed in the Glen Mohr Hotel on Ness Bank which is right next to the River. It was lovely! We had what I am going to describe as a suite (mainly because I think it sounds posh). It consisted of a bedroom, a living area with sofa bed and dining table, and a shower room. The shower was the biggest shower I have ever seen in my life which brought me much excitement - it's the simple things that bring me joy. Thankfully, there was also a television and internet access which meant I could keep up with my boy Andy Murray at Wimbledon. (I'm legitimately heartbroken that he has now been knocked out)

Map sourced from Google Maps

Something that was important to me while in Inverness was visiting certain places of importance to my family. The Fraser Clan are strongly associated with Inverness which is apparent as you walk around the city. There are many streets and buildings named after the Fraser clan. My Grandfather's family came from Inverness and his Uncle, Duncan Fraser, who died during World War 1, appears on the local War Memorial. Recently I have become increasingly interested in events of the World Wars, more specifically my family's involvement. My Grandfather, who fought in World War Two from the age of 18, has been telling stories of his Uncle Duncan who was part of the First World War. Sadly, Duncan died at 19 during the War. This fact really hits home when I think about the fact that in less than two months I will be turning 19.

While on the Inverness Sightseeing Bus, (an personal favourite activity of mine when visiting a new city. Super sad I know but it's a really easy way to see a city and have the most important areas pointed out to you)  I learnt that the wars had a significant impact on Inverness. 1 in 7 men from Inverness died during the First World War. It's crazy to think what a phenomenal dent in the male population that would have made and how many people would have been affected by loss.

It wasn't all thought provoking family remembrance, there was important touristy activities to get on with.  An essential thing to do in a new city for any shop-a-holic (I admit it. I am a sucker when it comes to anything new and shiny) is check out the shopping! The shopping centre in Inverness called Eastgate, has the main high street shops that you would expect it to have, although they were slightly small which made me miss Buchanan Street and its excellent stores! (maybe I shouldn't leave the Central belt after all) Along with the high street stores there were some touristy tat stores! At some points you felt like you were walking down the Royal Mile as the sound of 'We Will Rock You' on the bagpipes seeped out of the tartan clad stores piercing your ears with its shrill shriek. I would have to say Queen is an unusual choice for the bagpipes but who am I to question 'The Scotland Shop' and their musical preferences?! 

One of the highlight meals of the trip has to be dinner in The White House on Union Street. It describes itself as a cocktail bar and bistro. The menu is a mixture of burgers to pasta dishes and the cocktail menu was huge! All three of us had burgers. Mother and I opted for a chicken burger while Ewan chose a more exotic venison burger topped with haggis. The burgers were were delicious! I would throughly recommend a trip to The White House if you are in the area. Great food and friendly staff! (Although, my favourite cocktail, a Bellini, was on the menu so maybe I was simply on a Bellini buzz and everything just seemed angelically delightful.)

Raspberry and Peach Bellini

Another restaurant we visited that I would throughly recommend is Little Italy on Stephen Brae. It can be confusing as there are two Little Italy restaurants on Stephen Brae but the one we went to was the Italian Tapas and Prosecco Bar. The food was to die for! My family are really into Tapas and Italy is our favourite holiday destination so combining the two was bound to be a recipe for success in the Fraser family. We had 5 small Tapas dishes between the 3 of us which was a nice amount. Some of my favourites included an Italian interpretation of patatas bravas (fried potatoes with tomato sauce - v. yum!) and vegetable risotto served in a baked red pepper. (again v. v. yum!) Little Italy was a more expensive choice but you did get what you paid for in terms of quality of food. It felt like an authentic Italian restaurant and had a nice relaxing atmosphere.

In order to tick off something from my mother's bucket list we visited the Islands on the River Ness. The Islands are part of a very scenic walk that includes some lovely bridges between the trees. While walking the route I noticed how clean and free of litter it was. There were no nasty empty bottles floating by the rivers edge which meant that people could sit and enjoy the view. It was lovely to see people sitting out in the evening sun which is a situation I would never normally associate with Scotland. Everyone we met on the walk was super friendly and polite. In fact, this was common throughout Inverness! People in bars would say hello and shop staff were always asking me what I was up to or why I was in Inverness. (Evidently my Glasgow accent was obvious - damn!)

Ness Island Walk

On Wednesday Mum managed to get out of work early so we decided to drive down to Loch Ness and do some Nessie searching! Half way down Loch Ness there is an exhibition centre which was awarded 5 stars by the Tourist Board. The exhibition was fascinating! It was kind of interactive as you felt like you were standing at the bottom of the Loch looking at all the fossils. However, most importantly the exhibition was informative and I picked up lots of facts about the loch which I will now share with you because who doesn't love a wee fact?! 

1. Loch Ness is the largest body of fresh water in Britain. 
2. There is enough water in Loch Ness to fully submerge everyone on the planet 3 times over! (That's a load of water, just saying.)
3. At the loch's deepest point you could fully submerge the BT tower in London! 

Unfortunately it was a really yucky day so I didn't get many photos other than the ones I got hanging out of the car window.

Loch Ness from the West Bank

Inverness was a lovely wee break from home and somewhere different to see during my summer holiday. Next stop is London tomorrow with my bestie, Sarah. (ahhh too much excitement).

Lots of love, be safe. xo



ps. Big shout out to my St Andrews sister Zoe as it's her birthday today.Love you Zo! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox