August 22 – Now that our hike is over, we are taking it easy today, strolling slowly and seeing the sights of Inverness. Lots of beautiful architecture.

Leakey’s Book Shop, opened in 1979 in an old Gaelic church, is the largest second hand bookstore in Scotland. It is packed full of old paperbacks, hardcovers, maps and prints, and you can still see some of the stained glass windows.

We visited the Inverness Cathedral dedicated to St. Andrew, which felt more like a cozy parish church. It is the northernmost Scottish Episcopal Cathedral in Great Britain., built in 1866.

For Eliese and Janice, the Quilting Kieglers, below is a quilt fashioned in 2020 of scraps left over from making masks during the early days of Covid. Affixed are butterflies honoring parish family members lost to Covid.

I especially liked the crocheted church mice placed all over the church. So cute!

We checked out the Victorian Covered Market, originally built in 1870, burned down, then rebuilt in 1890. It has historical photos down each side.

We ate lunch at the riverside, then walked south to visit the Inverness Botanic Gardens. Lots of gorgeous blooms packed in a small space!

And we saw some painted hairy coos.

A relaxing day.