Jewel of the Seas — Voyage 2; Inverness and Invergordon, Scotland

Jewel of the Seas left Cobh, Ireland on 6 June 2022. We arrived back in Amsterdam two days later, and on 10 June during the second of three voyages, we made port in Invergordon, Scotland. From Invergordon Ursula and I took the bus into Inverness for a self-guided foot tour. On this week’s Fun Photo Friday, I’ll show favorites of both Invergordon and Inverness, but today and Wednesday I’ll be concentrating on the city of Inverness. We alighted from the bus at the bus station on Margaret Steet and headed out southwest. After some twists and turns — Margaret St., right onto Academy St., then left School Ln. (a narrow pedestrian street), we arrived at our first picture stop, Old High Church and its graveyard.

The first documented church located on this site dates back to 1171. Construction of the current structure began in 1770, but the base of the belltower is much older. That part is from the 14th century, making that portion of the church the oldest structure still standing in Inverness.

Unfortunately, I did not know that when I took these photographs. So, my photo of the belltower lacks the historic base:

Old High Church is not the only great church façade near here. Turn left onto Bank Street and you’ll immediately see two more. First, you’ll see the Gothic-style Free North Church built in 1893:

And just a short distance beyond Free North Church is the Junction Church, formerly the St Columba High Church building completed in 1852:

And what’s that I spy across the River Ness? Why, yes, it’s another church! This is St. Mary’s:

St Mary’s opened for business in 1837, and the exterior details are magnificent:

Standing on Bank Street along River Ness across from the Junction Church, face south for these views of Ness Bridge and the Best Western Palace Hotel and Spa:

These old buildings just south of Ness Bridge are fun to photograph. The Columba Hotel was built in 1881, and the Palace dates from about a decade later.

The building adjoining Columba Hotel also has an interesting roofline:

At this point Ursula and I decided to cross River Ness, leaving behind Bank Street for Huntly Street. Fortunately, just across from North Free Church, is Greig Street Bridge. This pedestrian suspension bridge was built in 1880-’81:

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