Wednesday, 16 April 2014

A Walk To Ness Islands

The start of the walk to Ness Islands, with Inverness Castle overlooking the city and the River Ness.
The first bridges to the islands were built in 1828, as prior to their construction the only way to reach the islands was by boat. The original bridges were washed away in a flood during 1849 and replaced by the present day structures which were built between 1853 and 1854. Following several days of rain and snow on the mountains, the river was the highest we have seen it, and was flowing very fast, as can be seen by the swirl of water around the piers of the bridge.
A closer look.
Suppliers of the steel for the bridge. 
Daffodils on the river bank. 
Onto the Islands via this footbridge, the path being part of The Great Glen Way long distance route. 
Such was the volume of the water that it was all but bursting the banks in several places. 

The sun shines on Inverness Cathedral in the distance, however, it was getting colder as continued our walk.
A nice place to sit usually, but you might get your feet wet on this occasion!
It started to snow at this point. The footpaths through the Islands make for easy walking. 
The river had flooded here. 
Another suspension bridge to walk across.  
More floods.
The snow was getting heavier and turning the grass white. Thankfully we were able to take shelter, and after about 15 minutes or so,  the snow stopped and the sun made an appearance, but it was still very cold. 
The Jacobite Queen moored on the Caledonian Canal.

Sculpture in the wooded section. 
Time to head back to Inverness city centre and retrace our outward walk. 

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