Come and sample the delights of the Continent !

Inverness City Centre will be transformed into a bustling market place. Professional continental market traders from France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Holland, Poland wearing traditional costumes will be selling high quality products including Brittany biscuits, olives, Italian nougat, pungent cheeses, saucissons, tartiflette from the Alps, charcuterie, fresh breads, croissants and much, much more! Or, for those of you with a sweet tooth, there will also be freshly cooked crepes.

As well as the fine edible goods, you will also be able to choose from a wide range of products including hand bags & leather items, Marseille soaps, lavender, children toys and pachmina! There really will be something for everyone!

Most of the products on sale will come from “the terroir”, the land, of the stall holder, where they are produced by small organisations such as family businesses, farms or small factories using traditional methods, maintaining a high standard of quality!
All of the traders will also wear their traditional local costumes from 100 years ago, as well as decorating their stall to represent the area of the country they come from. The market really will therefore provide you with a true flavour of the continent…

For more information contact Olivier Simonin, Traditional Market Ltd Mobile: 07833937251 or visit the Traditional Market website.

Whether you want a quiet pampering break or an extreme sports holiday, travel in the highlands of Scotland has it all.

Here are my 5 recommended places to travel in the highlands of Scotland:

1. Cairngorms National Park, Britain’s largest national park. It offers a unique range of landscapes, wildlife and activities. Whether you want to go white water rafting, mountain climbing or wildlife watching Carngorms has it all!
2. The world famous Loch Ness. You can take a cruise on this famous loch and maybe have a glimpse at the mystical monster that lives beneath!
3. Fort George is my recommended historical site.  Fort George is Europe’s best preserved 18th century fort and is the only ancient monument that is still functioning in Scotland.
4. Scotland’s Speyside Malt Whiskey Trail. Visit whiskey distilleries, learn how they make the world famous beverage. Speyside has a rich whiskey heritage with many great pubs with friendly locals.
5. Fly fishing in Sky Ghillie. Catch famous Scottish salmon and maybe spot a golden eagle while rowing down the Misty Isles’ beautiful rivers.

By far the best way to travel in the highlands of Scotland is by train. This gives you an opportunity to take in the amazing scenery. There are two train stations in the highlands, Inverness & Fort William and these have regular services to and from all major UK destinations.

These are just a small portion of what you can do when you travel in the highlands of Scotland. The Scottish highlands are one of the safest, most vibrant and beautiful places to travel in Europe and certainly will be a trip to remember.

The Hawco Sprint 2011 rowing regatta took place on the Caledonian Canal in Inverness on Saturday 13 August 2011. Despite the unusual recent heavy rainfall the weather was kind and the skies were blue and the sun shone all day making it an excellent day out close to the water.

A selection of clubs took part in 70 races including teams from Chester, Manchester and Bradford all enjoying success throughout the day. Inverness Rowing Club featured in a lot of the events and won nine of them.

The racers included Senior, Veterans and Juniors and the results for the day can be found on the Inverness Rowing Club Website.

Due to a cancellation the Bannerman B&B now has 3 rooms available from 4 – 10 July 2011 perfect for anyone attending, playing or working at the Barclays Scottish Open Golf Championship at Castle Stuart near Inverness.

For more information or to book please visit the Bannerman B&B or telephone Alison on 01463 -259199. Please note that bookings must be for a minimum of 3 nights.

The “Chatty Man” Alan Carr was scheduled to appear on just the 3 May 2011 but due to huge demand an extra night was added on the 3 May.

Alan’s tour currently has 33 dates for venues around the UK & Ireland and he’ll be treating us to some great new material sure to give us all a laugh. It’s  been four years since Alan Carr first took his show on the road and his success and popularity grow by the day.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 01463 234 234 or online via the Eden Court Theatre Website.

B&B Inverness, Guest House Inverness and Inverness Hotels can be booked by clicking the links.

This shows and the other Scotland venue, Hopetoun House near Edinburgh, will see audiences of 12,000 come together to see Keith, Mikey, Ronan and Shane playing their Scottish fans favourite songs including ‘Gave It All Away’, ‘No Matter What’ and ‘Baby Can I Hold You’.

The Northern Meeting Park shows will also feature X Factor winner Shayne Ward support the Boyz, following his comeback last year with current album ‘Obsession’. This concert will form part of CK Event’s ‘Summer in the City’ series.

Ronan has said:

“We always enjoy coming to Scotland as the fans always give us such a great reception. We can’t wait for these summer dates as we’ll be performing some of our classic hits as well as great tracks from the new album, in these amazing venues and with some cracking support acts. You really don’t want to miss out so come and join us.”

Tickets for Boyzone at the Northern Meeting Park Inverness are available from Ticketmaster via their website or by calling 08444 99 99 90.

Inverness B&B Accommodation can be booked via the Inverness Guest House Association website and Inverness Hotel Accommodation can be booked via the Inverness Hotels website.

If you are planning a two day or more break you could discover the beautiful Scottish Highlands as well as taking in the historical and beautiful city of Edinburgh. Think of a five day tour and you could tour the Isle of Skye and follow the whisky trail around the Highlands

Within every few hours of your travelling, you will experience a rapid change in the landscape from the gentle rolling hills to rugged coasts and dramatic, towering peaks. The cosmopolitan cities that are full with the future promises rub in shoulders with the ancient castles and monuments. While Edinburgh Festival and other festivals recalls the country’s cultural influence, the pristine sandy beaches offer peace and tranquillity. Country parks and outstanding nature reserves in other ways have something different for every visitor.

While you tour in the city, shop your bags full and lunch at a top restaurant. A whisky-themed weekend with a visit to the famous Scotch Malt Whisky Society is also something that will interest you. Edinburgh break with a trip to Loch Ness is also an option. The sheer variety of Scotland’s natural beauty never fails to impress you. The country offers an amazing range of landscapes, from the gentle rolling hills of Dumfries and Galloway to the breathtaking peaks of the Cairngorms, and from the rugged coastlines of the north east to the sub-tropical gardens of Wester Ross.

Scotland certainly has many treasures crammed into its compact territory. Every visitor will find something that will suit their taste. For the history buff, few cities compare with Edinburgh and Glasgow. The food lovers won’t want to miss Aberdeen and Angus and the delicious beef  and Dumfries & Galloway renowned for their Smoked Salmon. The thirsty ones can satisfy themselves with the peerless malt whiskies of the Isle of Islay or Oban. The wild mountain scenery of the Highlands & Northern Islands will attract nature lovers. Those who want to dance with the cold-sparking waves of sea can enjoy your breaks in Outer Hebrides.

If you are planning a stay in the Highlands, Inverness is the perfect base with just about all of the must see places within a relaxing and easy 2.5 hours drive. Inverness offers a massive choice of accommodation from a budget Inverness B&B, to quality Inverness Hotels. You can also find hostels and self catering cottages so there definitely is a bed to suit every taste and budget.

Scotland really does have every base covered for the discerning traveller. Book your Scotland break now and discover a beautiful country with the freshest air.

The festival is likely to be the top small whisky festival in the world  and will feature whiskies from small and independent distilleries around Scotland. There will also be live music, food from Good Highland Food and a Masterchef winner, master classes and a collectors auction.

Exhibiting at the Festival, alongside the likes of Abhainn Dearg (Lewis), Benromach (Speyside), Springbank (Campbeltown), Balblair (Edderton), Glenglassaugh (Portsoy) and more, will be the Tomatin Distillery – our very own local Inverness brand which is also the Festival’s official sponsor.

Bogbain Farm will present the Inverness Whisky Festival with its renowned style featuring live music.  Bruce MacGregor, the owner of Bogbain Farm and founding member of folk band, Blazin Fiddles has said:

“Following on from the roaring success of the Hogmanay Barn Dance held at Bogbain, the Festival will launch with a ceilidh hosted by the Bogbain All Star Ceilidh Band. We are delighted to be bringing the first Whisky Festival to Inverness!”

There will be an open stage featuring musicians from all over Scotland on the Saturday and the inaugural Whisky Festival will close on the Saturday night with a brilliant double bill of local acts, the duo Mairearad Green & Anna Massie and Orcadian legends, Saltfishforty.

Tickets can be purchased from the Inverness Whisky Festival Website @ £60.00 which includes food and samples of all of the whiskies on offer!! Only 200 tickets will be sold so you need to act fast.

If you are planning to stay in Inverness book with one of our excellent B&Bs. See details of the accommodation available by following this link – Inverness Accommodation.

We hope you have a great time at the First Inverness Whisky Festival.

Simple Minds are said to be the most successful Scottish rock band with over 40 million album sales and 21 UK top twenty singles with 8 reaching the top ten. Highland music lovers will enjoy hits like “Waterfront”, “Alive & Kicking”, UK chart topper “Belfast Child” and worldwide No.1 smash, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” with the stunning Inverness Cathedral as a backdrop.

The event is being billed as Summer In The City 2011 and is being promoted by Inverness-based CK Events. CK promoted the Rod Stewart concert at Caledonian Stadium last July and they have also recently announced that Rod will be appearing at Pittodrie Stadium in Aberdeen on 5th June 2011 and Cawdor Castle has been earmarked for another event on 27th July 2011. Details of the artist has yet to be released but it is sure to be a big name following on from last year’s stars Westlife and the X-Factor Finalists.

Simple Minds have a hectic summer schedule as they play their Greatest Hits UK Forest Tour in England and Wales Forestry Commission forests during June and July plus European dates including Belgium and Germany later in July.

Simple Minds‘ current line-up is front man Jim Kerr and his fellow band founder Charlie Burchill plus Mel Gaynor and the most recent additions Andy Gillespie on keyboards and Ged Grimes formerly of Danny Wilson.

Tickets cost £36.00 and can be purchased from the Ticketmaster Website or by telephone on 08444 99 99 90.

Accommodation will need to be booked early as Inverness is always busy during the summer months anyway. To book an Inverness B&B please check out our selection of top rated Guest Houses and B&Bs.

Proposals have been tabled to extend the existing Distributor Road to link up with the Fort William A82 Road.

There are 5 options, all of which involve the total or partial destruction of Whin Park and the adjacent rugby pitches.

Please sign the PETITION calling on the Highland Council to save the Whin Park and to find an alternative route for its distributor road completion.

For more information on these proposals check out the WEST LINK ROAD PROPOSAL WEBITE and submit your views to the Highland Council by Friday. The action group is working very hard to find a sensible alternative to the Highland Council’s ill conceived plans to carve up Whin Park and surrounding amenities with their proposed west-link to the distributor road. Please send this website on to all your contacts in Inverness.

This is an incredible coup for Castle Stuart and is good news from Inverness and the Scottish Highlands as the event will bring 1000′s of additional visitors to the area.

The Scottish Open has been held at Loch Lomond for the past 15 years but Castle Stuart will now join the list of other hosts since 1972 – Downfield, St Andrews, Haggs Castle, Gleneagles and Carnoustie.

Inverness and the Highlands in general are always very poplar in the summer months so accommodation will need to be booked straight away as demand will be far higher than can be supplied locally. Please visit our website for more Barclays Scottish Open 2011 information.

Barclays Scottish Open 2011

Barclays Scottish Open – Castle Stuart, Inverness

Inverness and the Highlands of Scotland is such a romantic place to be with its stunning scenery, historic castles and friendly people.

Many of the restaurants in Inverness will be offering Valentine’s Day specials and we can recommend Mustard Seed and The Riverhouse for a romantic meal for two.

The Inverness Guest House Association have a selection of guest houses and bed and breakfasts with star ratings from 3 to 5. Why not treat you loved one to a special break and book a stay over the weekend of Friday11th to Monday 14th February. Details are available on our Inverness Accommodation page.

Don’t forget the Valentine’s Card. Lemon And Lime Porcupine have a great choice of Handmade Cards and can even send the card directly to the recipient. Let your loved know how special they are with a one-off handmade card!

In any popular tourist city or town there could be in excess 100 guest houses and bed and breakfasts so competition is high. Compare this to let’s say dentists in a particular area there is a notable difference. It is clear that lots of guest houses have embraced SEO companies and their services and are reaping the benefits.

Some guest house and B&B owners are put off by the cold calling SEO companies and it’s obvious why – most of them start the conversation by inferring they are from Google and then they ramble on probably at a totally inappropriate time of day like the end of breakfast using jargon that flies way above most people’s heads.

We have over 200 guest houses and B&Bs in Inverness so when we started the Inverness Guest House Association we knew that if we wanted our website to rank quickly and well we would need an SEO specialist. There are different aspects to search engine optimisation and it is crucial you choose an SEO company that you are happy dealing with and that will get you results.

We chose NessSEO Scotland because of the results they have achieved with other websites in Inverness – currently 5 of the 10 websites on page one of Google for “Bed And Breakfast Inverness” have been optimised by NessSEO. Our website is currently No.1 on Page 1 of Google for “Bed And Breakfast Inverness”, “Guest House Inverness” and “B&B Inverness” plus other top 10 positions for other major search terms.

If you own a guest house, B&B or hotel we can happily recommend NessSEO for search engine optimisation in Scotland and the UK. The additional business you will pick up from listing high on Google will more than cover the cost.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup 2011 will provide more than 25 races over the course of the four day event  and in excess of £500 million will be bet on some of the world’s finest horses which will be racing on Cheltenham Race Course’s Old Course, New Course and Cross Country Steeplechase Course.

There is an assortment of accommodation available near Cheltenham Race Course from B&Bs to Hotels but located in the popular Montpellier area is the 5-star metro Wyastone Hotel which offers the perfect Cheltenham Racing Accommodation and is walking distance from the race course.

Tickets for the Cheltenham Gold Cup 2011 can be purchased online or by calling 08445-793003

Lightstalkers Scotland provide landscape photography workshops, tours and tuition throughout the Scottish Highlands taking in location such as Loch Ness, Glen Affric, Torridon, Cairngorm National Park, Isle of Skye and Glencoe. Lightstalkers is owned and run by multi-award winning Master Photographer Glen C Campbell and whether you are a beginner or an advanced enthusiast you’ll be learning in a fun and relaxed environment with guaranteed results.

Glen is passionate about both landscape photography and the beauty of the Highlands and he can plan day trips on demand as well as private tuition. If you would like to master your camera and improve your skills while enjoying some of Scotland’s most iconic locations and magnificent scenery give Glen a call on 07826-370271, email or visit his website for Landscape Photography Workshops.

When selecting a cleaning company it pays to find out who some of their existing clients are and perhaps give one or two a call for a reference. Security is a major issue these days and all cleaning companies should be taking steps to ensure that their cleaners are vetted appropriately before being allowed access to your premises. Soho is very central to London and is a great location for cleaners to want to work in because of the tube and bus access both early in the mornings and late at night. This offers the benefit that your Soho cleaners should be more reliable than those that have to travel further afield.

One company that we can recommend from experience is Xenon Office Cleaning who provide Office Cleaning Soho and commercial cleaning services to a number of prestige clients around Soho and the rest of Central London. Their contact number is 020 7701 7070. They have a strong management presence in the Soho area and your contract will be staffed with only the most reliable and highly trained cleaners.

If you choose the right company they will take care of the cleaning enabling you to spend your time doing your own job!

The Bang on Boogie Band and the Nairn Academy Pipes and Drums will be playing in the High Street before local DJ Andi Stephen hosts the pre- switch on entertainment. The event is expected to be full of entertainment with the Inverness based historical dance group Danse Ecosse performing a repertoire of 15th and 16th Century dances including Tudor and Stuart outside the Town House.

Members of the cast of this year’s Eden Court Christmas pantomime Sinbad, which is being staged in a Big Top in the Northern Meeting Park while the redevelopment of the theatre is underway, will then join in the fun before everyone starts looking to the skies hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa. The Sinbad cast includes Lee Scott as Sinbad, Lucia Rovardi as the Princess, Iain Gouck as the Dame and her Silly Son, Derek McGhie.

As usual Santa’s arrival is being kept top secret but it is thought that he’ll  flying in on his sleigh near one of the Town House chimney’s around 6.50pm. Come and enjoy the fun of the Inverness Christmas Lights.

Rhod Gilbert is the guy with the distinctive and resonant Welsh accent more commonly associated with voice-overs and recently had a new comedy/quiz show on BBC TV. His most highly acclaimed show saw him punching a shop assistant in an argument over the tog rating of a duvet and this latest tour sees him taking a quick look at anger management yet again.

The tour titled The Cat That Looked Like Nicholas Lyndhurst will once more showcase Rhod’s genius comedic style and is guaranteed to have you in fits of laughter.

Tickets are available from the Eden Court Box Office.

Southern Driver Training are a a driving school based in Bexhill, East Sussex and cover the Bexhill, Hastings and St. Leonards areas.

SDT are members of the Driving Instructors Association and all of their driving instructors are qualified and have extensive experience.

Call Southern Driver Training on 07803-580663 or 01424-732952.