Inverness, Scotland
For most of us it was a long haul from home involving overnights flights, trains and coaches but we all finally arrived in the city of Inverness known as “The Capital of the Highlands.” Before embarking the ship we had some time to explore this charming and ancient city, sitting quietly along the wide expanse of the River Ness which runs right through the centre of town. Inverness Castle, now used as the law courts and offices, looks down on the town which has a surprising number of streets, lanes and alleyways populated with small shops, cafes, restaurants and business premises. This is the main shopping and business centre for the whole of the large Highland Region and is used by people from many miles away.
We caught our first glimpse of The Lord of the Glens sitting in the Caledonian Canal and were greeted on board in true Scottish style by a piper, in full highland dress, playing bagpipes. After exploring and getting to know the ship, the ship the Hotel Manager, Brian Copland, briefed us on the mandatory safety drill following which we were introduced to our Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic staff by Steve Blamires, our Expedition Leader. Helping him are Konia Tack and Rick Atkinson from Lindblad Expeditions and it was clear that all three staff have an extensive knowledge of Scotland and a passion for this small country.
Our evening was rounded-off in grand style with another authentic display of Scottish culture by the very young pupils of the Elizabeth Fraser School of Scottish Country Dancing. The young pupils proudly showed their steps to these ancient tunes played once more by our welcoming piper. It was truly heartening to see that such young children are still eager to maintain these ancient traditions and were happy to give up an evening at home to come and dance for us. And this was just the beginning of our Scottish adventure… what else lies ahead?!
