Kingsmill Hotel, Inverness

This is my favorite hotel so far, and I can’t believe we are leaving it tomorrow after five nights. That time has gone so quickly. 

I like it because it has a desk with multiple PowerPoints right there next to the kettle. The bed is nice and firm and the curtains actually block out the 5am dawn. I have slept until 7.30am. There is a bath which I have used and I have not turned on the TV.

In Inverness I visited the Archives, and got another great clue about the Bains, and the mysterious Wormald Bain. Anne Fraser dispelled my belief that the Bain family were part of the McBain or MacBeth clan. We are not! The Dingwall Bains come from an Alexander Bain, one of several brothers who spread south from Sutherland in the 1400s. There are more Alexander Bains in Dingwall than any other name, so that is confirmatory. Who is our Bain ancestor - why two Alexanders at least. 

And there is a buffet breakfast. Quick, an excellent range of food, constant tea and coffee, and responsive staff. Heaven after some less than excellent breakfasts at more star hotels. I also like the idea of hooks for clothes instead of wardrobes. My only concern, the tap in the bathroom sink did not extend enough into the basin, to stop water dripping onto the floor. Too late now.

Here is a lived in shot of my room:

Day 1 started with a walking tour down to the CBD which took 20 minutes through the suburb. Eventually we reached the now closed Church of Scotland big church, and I scoured the very old  headstones unsuccessfully for Catherine Matheson who died in her cottage directly across the river in front of the church in 1864. Not there. But only 6 weeks after she died, her husband Alexander Bain succumbed to typhoid fever. The eldest two children were already in Australia, while the youngest guest was just 5. There was no chance of a headstone.

We then went to the Inverness Cathedral built in 1860s. But it was cheerful, really, full on modern day activities and some very nice knitted mice.

These were having baptism of twins. There was also a bishop, a choir singer, a mice-scout, newly weds, an altar server, a flower fairy (who did all the flower arranging). Mary the mother of Jesus, of course, and a charity stall lady carrying cakes.

There were obligatory stained glass windows, beams, VE Day wreaths to fallen soldiers, saints galore and a request for donations. I duly clicked my card, as I did use there solitary loo.

Not too much holy-than-though-ness and talk of sin.

There was also a lot of embroidery on the kneeling cushions, now that is a good idea in itself! This one starts with the story of St Columba and the sending of the beast to the depths of Loch Ness.

If you are wondering why I have suddenly become more productive on the blog. It is because I now take an image with my iPad of the image on my phone that I want to use. As well I have started taking pictures with the iPad, as it gives great well-lit pictures, although it has poor zoom capacity.

Day 1 continued with a walk along the River Ness to the Archives, a high tea with lecture about Mary Queen of Scots, drinks with the chief AND a tour of the Inverness Museum. You guessed it, great Pictish stones.