Ness bridge and Inverness Castle
This is a painting shows a scene around 1950 with the river Ness running through the town and the Ness suspension bridge and Inverness Castle in the background.
The river Ness flows from right to left in the view. I remember as a child standing by the bridge and an angler pulled a 3 foot salmon out the river, walked calmly to the cafe where he sold it and carried on fishing.
The Ness suspension bridge really complimented the town. It was opened in August 1855. With a span of 68.5 metres it replaced the previous bridge, which had been washed away in the floods of 1849. As the traffic grew through the years the bridge started to limit the traffic flow on what was the main road through the town. Plans were drawn for it's replacement in 1939 but it wasn't until the 1960's that it was finally changed for a four lane concrete thing. The bridge does not need to have much clearance as the caledonian canal runs separate at this part, joining the river about 2 miles up-stream.
Inverness Castle, has been on the hill by the crossing in one form or another for 800 years. Geographically, Inverness is a gate-way to the north, with Loch Ness and mountains to the west and the Moray firth to the east. The strategic location of the castle has meant that it has been in many conflicts and the most recent re-build dates from more peaceful times around 1834 with the jail added in 1848.
