Invergorden, Scotland

Invergordon is in the north of Scotland, 305 km (190 miles) from Glasgow and close to Inverness, the capital of the Scottish Highlands.  Invergordon's main business is the repair of oil rigs that are lined up in the Cromarty Firth waterway into town.  We explore the town and make a note to next time also catch the local bus to Inverness.

 Morning view, parked oil rigs

We poke our head into a local antiques shop that is so full of objects that only 4 customers at a time are allowed in the shop.

 Antiques galore

We enjoy wandering through the streets and houses of this charming town.

 Local streets and houses

The landscape is dominated by the oil rigs under repair or waiting for repair, some of them the size of a small city.

 Oil rigs lined up

We leave the harbor and walk (in the rain) 4 km (2.5 miles) to the Dalmore Distillery,
established in 1839.  Operations were disrupted briefly in 1920 when the British Royal Navy established a deep-sea mine production facility next door and accidentally blew up the distillery, reportedly resulting in a lengthy discussion between the owners of the distillery and the British Government.  The road to the distillery is lined with fields of barley for the whiskey.

 Barley, first step in production of whiskey

The grounds and buildings of the Dalmore Distillery are beautiful.  They hold our phones and cameras while we tour and we focus on enjoying the tour and the views and smells of each of the tanks at various stages in the fermentation process.  The old delivery truck outside the buildings was restored in 2017 to its original 1957 condition and colors after woodworm attacked the wooden platforms and headboard.  Dalmore holds the record for the most expensive bottle of whiskey ever sold when, in 1962, the last (of 12) 62-year-old bottle of Dalmore-64 was sold at the duty free shop in Singapore's Changi Airport for S$250,000 ($182,284 USD, 141,535 GBP, 156,830 euros).

 Dalmore Distillery buildings

 Distillery grounds

 Delivery truck

 Final product

We hike from the distillery back into town and find the local museum.  The displays give us a great representation of the people, culture, and history of this area.

 Invergordon Museum

Scattered throughout the town are murals painted on the walls of the buildings depicting more of the history and culture of the region.

 Building art

As we walk back to the ship, docked a mile or so outside the city center, we find grand, modern houses over looking the water.  What great residences with fabulous views.

 Outside town

Before we leave, we are in for a treat:  Scottish dancers from the local tourist agency entertain us with a short concert, accompanied by bagpipe and accordion, and then bagpipers march up and down the dock as we depart, leaving us with a great Scottish goodbye.

 Concert

 Fairwell