Inverness

One of the reasons we moved to Golspie was that it offered easy access to the facilities, such as shops and medical services, of the Highland capital, Inverness. We don't go often but we did yesterday, taking the X99 bus which whisked us there in just over an hour, depositing us in the centre of the city.

I like Inverness. It's the right size for a city, small enough to access all of it on foot but big enough to offer a good range of services. However, the city centre, while outwardly appearing busy, is suffering from the closure of shops, many the sorts of places which, a few years ago, we would have visited. A good example is Clarks shoeshop, now empty. And with the loss of rent the owners of these premises are beginning to neglect them, opening the door to various.... 

....invasive shrubs, such as this elder, which, in their turn, offer refuge to birds like wood pigeons. However, the most common shrub taking hold in Inverness is....

....buddleia, which seems to be able to survive in the very smallest of cracks.

Looking at this from a positive angle, perhaps Inverness should try selling itself in future as a 'garden city'.