About the Area and Useful Links

Inverness has always been known as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland, being an important commercial, administrative and communications centre. It is a popular tourist destination for its own attractions and as a centre for touring the remainder of the Highlands. The City's name means that it is at the mouth of the River Ness and it is situated only 7 miles away from the North end of Loch Ness, the home of the famous Loch Ness monster. Further information is available from the Highlands of Scotland Tourist Board.

Inverness has expanded greatly over the last 25 years not only as a result of the development of the North Sea oil industry but also because of the increased importance which people now place on living in a clean and attractive environment. It became a city on 1st January 2001.

Within an hour’s drive of Inverness there is a wide range of activities available including skiing, hill walking, sailing, golf, bird-watching and other leisure activities.

An exciting development currently taking place within the Highlands is the creation of the University of The Highlands and Islands. This is a new concept for education in that the University is made up of a large number of colleges throughout the Highlands & Islands area now offering degree courses. These colleges are all linked by the most modern communication network allowing video conferencing and information dissemination for students.

Situated at the north west end of the Great Glen, Inverness has always been an important route centre. The airport at Dalcross has daily flights to London, Glasgow, Stornoway and the Northern Isles. There are regular rail services West to Kyle of Lochalsh, North to Wick and Thurso, East to Aberdeen and South to Edinburgh and Glasgow. There are also good rail links to England with day and overnight sleeper links to London. There are also excellent road links.

The influx of people wanting to live in the Inverness area has led to a wide range of shops now being available within the city and its outskirts, with a substantial expansion of the existing Eastgate shopping centre which was opened during 2003.