If Ye're in a Rush...

I decided to do the hop-on, hop-off sightseeing bus tour for my second day in Inverness.  The first few stops were places that I had already been the day before or were close enough that I could easily visit on my own.  I had my sights set on the Merkinch Nature Reserve and the factory outlet shops at the very end of the tour.

Firth at the Merkinch Nature Reserve

Hopping off the bus at Telford Street with only a vague reference of the reserve being beyond the Caledonian Canal, I decided to take the comment literally and headed towards a marina on the canal.  I had a vague idea of where it might be once I got there, but figured that discretion is the better part of valour and the better plan would be to ask.

An older gentlemen manning the reception centre was only too glad to help, even going so far as to look up and print off the directions for me and virtually ignoring another man who had come in. 

“Stay away from these houses here, though.  They’re not a good place for you to be around” he tells me.

“Excuse me,” the other man broke in.  “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I have an appointment to fill up at eleven.”

“Well, then, fill it” he’s told.  I had a hard time holding back the snort until he left the office.  My gent had this “Are you a total dolt?” look on his face and the other was decidedly put out that he was to do the fill himself.

Got...an....itch!

Armed with my maps and watched over by my benefactor to ensure I got started off in the right direction, I set off.  It wasn’t a hugely long walk and I got there without mishap.  I had to cross the railroad track, which was guarded on both sides by a tall picket fence.  Rather than wood, the pickets were made of steel and gates on either side provided access.

As a nature reserve, the Merkinch was pretty much a dud, but it was nice walk and there were some beautiful views of the firth.  Outside of a bunny and the prerequisite mallards, there wasn’t much else to be seen in the wildlife department.  Next stop, the James Pringle Woolen Mills.

Happy Canada Day!  It’s 6:30 a.m. July 1^st here, even though it’s about 10:30 p.m. June 30, there.