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Inverness-shire
Inverness-shire, Scotland
Inverness-shire is a huge county which spreads from the North Sea to the Atlantic and out into its many beauteous islands.
Inverness-shire is the heart of the Highlands, and the largest county in Scotland.
It is bounded to the north by Ross-shire and, on its long, sweeping eastern and southern border, by many counties.
Type: Historic County
Lat, Long: 57.156807,-4.704564
Grid Reference: NH365105
Country: Scotland
Explore Inverness-shire on Wikishire
The landward part of Inverness-shire is wild and mountainous throughout to an immoderate degree and characterised by gorgeous scenery, with isolated glens and lochs. The coastline is marked with long, rugged sealochs. Mainland Inverness can be divided into a number of distinct districts. Around the coast are Moidart, Arisaig and Morar in the south-west, Knoydart in the west, Lochaber in the south, Badenoch in the south-east and the Aird in the north. In the mountains are Badenoch, Strathspey (the upper part of the Spey) and Rannoch Moor (shared with Perthshire).
The Caledonian Canal at Fort Augustus
Scored through the centre of the shire is the Great Glen, or Glenmore, a deep straight line running south-west to north-east from sea to sea and containing a string of major lochs, from Loch Linnhe to Loch Ness. Loch Ness is the longest, deepest and most famous of all lochs. The ruins of Urquhart Castle sit on a headland overlooking the loch. The lochs of the Great Glen were linked in the nineteenth century by the Caledonian Canal: now little used but remaining surely the most spectacular canal journey in Britain.
Loch Ness with Urquhart Castle
Inverness-shire includes all of the Outer Hebrides (apart from the Isle of Lewis) including Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, Eriskay, Barra, Vatersay and Mingulay. Far out in the Atlantic, the St Kilda archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, belong to the county. Its main island Hirta has the highest sea cliffs in the UK, though its population was evacuated in 1930. The shire also includes several islands of the Inner Hebrides, including the Isle of Skye, Raasay, Eigg, and their outliers. More than a third of Inverness-shire's area belongs to the islands.
St Kilda, the abandoned village on Hirta
There are in Inverness-shire more than fifty Munroes (mountains over 3,000 feet), including Ben Nevis (4,406 feet), the highest mountain in the British Isles, Ben Alder (3,757 feet), Sgurr Alaisdair (3,258 feet) on the Isle of Skye, and several of the Cairngorms, a range straddling the border with Aberdeenshire and Banffshire.
Fort William and Ben Nevis
Fort William in Lochaber is a major tourist centre, with Glen Coe to the south, Ben Nevis and Aonach Mòr to the east and Glenfinnan to the west, and on the Road to the Isles. A fort was first built here by Cromwell in 1654.
Inverness is considered the capital of the Highlands. It stands at the mouth of the River Ness (which empties the waters of Loch Ness) as the river enters the Moray Firth. The red sandstone of Inverness Castle overlooks the River Ness. The present building dates from the 19th century though a castle has been on the site since the 11th century. Inverness, standing at the trysting of the highland roads, is the main mart of the Highlands as it has been for centuries. In more troubled times it was also a garrison town watching the restive clans. Inverness was raised to being a city in 2000. The Culloden battlefield site lies on Drumossie Moor, to the east of Inverness.
Aviemore in Strathspey is a popular resort for winter sports and for hillwalking in the Cairngorm Mountains. The scenic Loch an Eilein lies in the Rothiemurchus Forest south of Aviemore. The 14th-century Loch an Eilein Castle lies on a small island on the loch.
Loch an Eilein
The county's many cairns, stone circles, and brochs illustrate that the area had large population during prehistoric times. During Roman times, the area was the home of the Picts. Inverness was the capital of the Picts under King Brude at the time St Columba arrived about AD 565. With the eventually unification of Scotland, Inverness-shire became part of the province of Moray. Inverness-shire appears to have become a sheriffdom in 1204 with William de Moravia being the first recorded sheriff. A succession of landowning dynasties controlled the county during the Middle Ages. The Stuart kings used the influence of the chiefs in the growing clan system to exert control over Inverness-shire. The county’s clans took different sides during the English Civil Wars and the Jacobite risings, with much resulting internecine strife. During the 18th century the British Government sort to pacify the area and reduce the power of the clans, clearing the way for acquisition of much of the land by outsiders. In the "Highland clearances" of the early 19th century, thousands of crofters were forcibly evicted from their land to create large sheep-farming estates. Large-scale emigration ensued to the Lowlands and also to Canada, the United States, and Australia. Although widespread popular sympathy for the crofters eventually brought protective legislation, economic hardships caused rural inhabitants to migrate to urban areas well into the 20th century. The 20th century saw the development of tourism and the North Sea oil industry bring economic vitality to parts of Inverness-shire.
Traigh Scarasta, Isle of Harris
Type: Historic County
Lat, Long: 57.156807,-4.704564
Grid Reference: NH365105
Country: Scotland
Explore Inverness-shire on WikishireThe landward part of Inverness-shire is wild and mountainous throughout to an immoderate degree and characterised by gorgeous scenery, with isolated glens and lochs. The coastline is marked with long, rugged sealochs. Mainland Inverness can be divided into a number of distinct districts. Around the coast are Moidart, Arisaig and Morar in the south-west, Knoydart in the west, Lochaber in the south, Badenoch in the south-east and the Aird in the north. In the mountains are Badenoch, Strathspey (the upper part of the Spey) and Rannoch Moor (shared with Perthshire).
The Caledonian Canal at Fort Augustus
Scored through the centre of the shire is the Great Glen, or Glenmore, a deep straight line running south-west to north-east from sea to sea and containing a string of major lochs, from Loch Linnhe to Loch Ness. Loch Ness is the longest, deepest and most famous of all lochs. The ruins of Urquhart Castle sit on a headland overlooking the loch. The lochs of the Great Glen were linked in the nineteenth century by the Caledonian Canal: now little used but remaining surely the most spectacular canal journey in Britain.
Loch Ness with Urquhart Castle
Inverness-shire includes all of the Outer Hebrides (apart from the Isle of Lewis) including Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, Eriskay, Barra, Vatersay and Mingulay. Far out in the Atlantic, the St Kilda archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, belong to the county. Its main island Hirta has the highest sea cliffs in the UK, though its population was evacuated in 1930. The shire also includes several islands of the Inner Hebrides, including the Isle of Skye, Raasay, Eigg, and their outliers. More than a third of Inverness-shire's area belongs to the islands.
St Kilda, the abandoned village on Hirta
There are in Inverness-shire more than fifty Munroes (mountains over 3,000 feet), including Ben Nevis (4,406 feet), the highest mountain in the British Isles, Ben Alder (3,757 feet), Sgurr Alaisdair (3,258 feet) on the Isle of Skye, and several of the Cairngorms, a range straddling the border with Aberdeenshire and Banffshire.
Fort William and Ben Nevis
Fort William in Lochaber is a major tourist centre, with Glen Coe to the south, Ben Nevis and Aonach Mòr to the east and Glenfinnan to the west, and on the Road to the Isles. A fort was first built here by Cromwell in 1654.
Inverness is considered the capital of the Highlands. It stands at the mouth of the River Ness (which empties the waters of Loch Ness) as the river enters the Moray Firth. The red sandstone of Inverness Castle overlooks the River Ness. The present building dates from the 19th century though a castle has been on the site since the 11th century. Inverness, standing at the trysting of the highland roads, is the main mart of the Highlands as it has been for centuries. In more troubled times it was also a garrison town watching the restive clans. Inverness was raised to being a city in 2000. The Culloden battlefield site lies on Drumossie Moor, to the east of Inverness.
Aviemore in Strathspey is a popular resort for winter sports and for hillwalking in the Cairngorm Mountains. The scenic Loch an Eilein lies in the Rothiemurchus Forest south of Aviemore. The 14th-century Loch an Eilein Castle lies on a small island on the loch.
Loch an Eilein
The county's many cairns, stone circles, and brochs illustrate that the area had large population during prehistoric times. During Roman times, the area was the home of the Picts. Inverness was the capital of the Picts under King Brude at the time St Columba arrived about AD 565. With the eventually unification of Scotland, Inverness-shire became part of the province of Moray. Inverness-shire appears to have become a sheriffdom in 1204 with William de Moravia being the first recorded sheriff. A succession of landowning dynasties controlled the county during the Middle Ages. The Stuart kings used the influence of the chiefs in the growing clan system to exert control over Inverness-shire. The county’s clans took different sides during the English Civil Wars and the Jacobite risings, with much resulting internecine strife. During the 18th century the British Government sort to pacify the area and reduce the power of the clans, clearing the way for acquisition of much of the land by outsiders. In the "Highland clearances" of the early 19th century, thousands of crofters were forcibly evicted from their land to create large sheep-farming estates. Large-scale emigration ensued to the Lowlands and also to Canada, the United States, and Australia. Although widespread popular sympathy for the crofters eventually brought protective legislation, economic hardships caused rural inhabitants to migrate to urban areas well into the 20th century. The 20th century saw the development of tourism and the North Sea oil industry bring economic vitality to parts of Inverness-shire.
Traigh Scarasta, Isle of Harris