Inverness-shire, Scotland Public Record Office and Inverness-shire Information
Address:
Bught Road, Inverness, Inverness-shire, IV3 5SS
The Inverness-shire Public Records Office (also referred to as the Highland Archive Centre) is located at Bught Road, Inverness, Inverness-shire, IV3 5SS. The Office collects and preserves materials relating to the history of the Scottish Highlands. These materials include parish records, maps, photographs, films and records dating back to the thirteenth century.
One of the main features of the Highland Archive Centre is Family History Research and the Centre offers the use of materials which can assist in genealogical searches.
Inverness-shire, known in Gaelic as “Siorrachd Inbhir Nis,” features rugged landscape, deep glens and dramatic coastlines. The county boasts more than fifty mountains, including Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the British Isles. Inverness-shire is the largest historic county in Scotland and encompasses several of the Inner and Outer Hebrides Islands, including Skye, North Uist, Barra and Benbecula. The county comprises approximately 7200 square miles.
The capital of the Highlands is Inverness, a name which translates as “mouth of the river Ness.” It is the northernmost city in the United Kingdom and is the home of the University of the Highlands and Islands. In 1996, Inverness won the “Best Large Town” award in a national competition.
The most popular attraction in Inverness-shire is Loch Ness, the lake made famous for its elusive inhabitant, Nessie. Eyewitnesses have reported sightings of this cryptozoological creature for hundreds of years. The first documented sighting was made by St. Columba in the sixth century and the lure of a possible Nessie sighting still draws thousands of tourists to the area. The loch itself extends twenty-four miles southwest of Inverness and contains the largest volume of water of any lake in Scotland. The village of Drumnadrochit, on the shore of the lake, features the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition, as well as several boating companies that offer cruises.
In addition to Nessie, other notable attractions at Loch Ness include the historic Urquhart Castle, the village of Fort Augustus and (for the esoterically-minded) Boleskine House, the former home of the notorious English magician, Aleister Crowley. Boleskine House is privately-owned, however, and is not open to the public.
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