Inverness

The train experience was easy. I prepurchased my train trips since I had limited time on some stops. When you prepurchase on the app, you then have to get a small printed ticket from a machine at the station the day of travel. 

I did not have a seat reservation as it just added to the cost, but I wasn’t sure where to sit. At the station I asked and was told as long as there was no reserved sign on the seat I could sit there. I found a priority seat for pregnant, elderly etc and sat there. I am after all… elderly! It was perfect with plenty of room for my luggage. 

This trip was the longest of my stay, about 3 hours. Enjoyed a cup of tea, wrote a bit and relaxed.

I met a French woman on the last hour of the train ride. She spoke better English than I spoke French so we were able to chat in English with some confusion here and there. She lives off the Vezeley trail in France and is definitely an outdoors person. She is visiting Scotland with her husband and son and they are biking through some of the highlands and cairngorms. She’s hoping for minimal rain… she should get her wish.

Once arrived in Inverness I found my hotel which was literally IN the train station parking area. My mapping guide could not figure it out and sent me across the street and basically in a circle! I finally decided to go back to the train station to start over and there it was!

I had to leave my bags in the luggage room for a couple  hours until my room was ready and when I picked them up, realized my suitcase had a huge dent in one corner and the corner had cracked. I was not confident it would make a return flight home so I decided to search for a new suitcase. Found one and I must say it’s very handsome.

Next up was a walking tour. Our guide was a former teacher who loved his Scottish history. We wandered through the town while learning some of the local folklore and facts. I think there is as much folklore as there are facts.

Flora MacDonald (1722–1790) is famous for helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape to the Isle of Skye in 1746. After her arrest, imprisonment, and later release, she married, emigrated to North Carolina, lost her home in the American Revolution, survived a pirate attack at sea, and returned to Scotland, where she died in 1790. And we think we have it bad at times…!

Considering Inverness is not very large, there were several coffee shops. One thing about coffee. Seems most places serve one size latte which is larger than I like. You then just order a flat white which is basically a small latte. I thought a cappuccino was a cappuccino (6-8 oz) but I saw a couple sitting near me order a flat white and a cappuccino and the cappuccino was a 12-ouncer if I ever saw one! So confusing…

Time to head to Aviemore where I will spend the next 5+ days hiking the Cairngorms with a group of women. I’m very excited to see the landscapes and meet some new friends. Here is a peak at the landscape

#18daysinScotland2026