June 27, 2019 • travel
Fun Facts About Inverness and Hannah’s Scottish Dates
Hannah Brown and her suitors flew across the Atlantic from Newport, Rhode Island, to Inverness, Scotland, during Week 5. The northern Scottish city was just the first of many international stops along the way.
Inverness is steeped in history, about which the 11 men and Hannah learned a bit on their dates in the Scottish Highlands. Inverness is about three hours by car from Scotland’s capital city of Edinburgh. Loch Ness is one of Inverness’ main attractions, so urban-legend buffs can take cruises or boat rides out on the water to look for any sightings of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. Alternately, the “Luke Ness Monster” was hiding in plain sight.
Hannah and Mike tasted whisky as part of their one-on-one, and the libation has played a prevalent role in the country’s history since the late 1400s. Whisky fans will be happy to note that the word derives from a Gaelic phrase that translates to “water of life.” It is, after all, their national drink.
The men on the group date participated in the Highland Games, a yearly tradition that still takes place across Scotland and started all the way back in the 1300s. There are versions of the Highland Games held all over hte world now, too. Some of the other events in the Games that we didn’t see the men try include tug o’ war, shot put, hammer throw, and caber toss. Emily Maynard had a similar date during her season of “The Bachelorette” while in Croatia, kilts included.
Meanwhile, Luke and Hannah had their intense discussion about their relationship on the grounds outside Urquhart Castle. The castle is over 1,000 years old and has sweeping views of Loch Ness. It served as a medieval fortress for 500 years, and is one of the country’s biggest castles.
Inverness is an ideal locale for outdoorsy folk who love bike riding, kayaking, walking, hiking and playing golf. Plus, “Outlander” fans can soak up the show’s roots because it’s filmed all over Scotland.
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The men lodged at the five-star Achnagairn Estate, which is located about seven miles from Inverness’ main city center. According to their website, Achnagairn sits on 30 acres of land and there has been some sort of home on the property for at least 400 years. The hotel opened in 2008 and is owned by a husband and wife pair, Gillian and Mike Lacey-Solymar. Like many other manors and castles in Europe, it turned into a hospital during World War II.
Anyone have an extra plane ticket to Inverness we can use?
