Thinking of visiting Fort George, near Inverness and wondering what to expect? Read my top 5 facts and watch my short YouTube Video for an idea of what your visit might look like.
Fort George is still a military fort. The Fort is an 18th century fort build after the Jacobite rebellion to further supress and terrorise the Scots. To this day the fort is still used as a military garrison (date of writing January 2022).
The Fort is open to the public and is managed by Historic Environment Scotland. (In 2022 the cost for an adult visitor to Fort George was £9, carers get access for free if accompanying a disabled visitor). As there is still a military prescence there are still areas of the fort which are not accessible to the public. In fact there are two separate entrances to the fort, one for paying tourists and one for the military personnel.
Fort George is located only 11 miles from Inverness and approximately 5 miles from Nairn on a part of the Moray Firth which is quite narrow. Build on a promitory the fort commands fantastic views over the Moray Firth, towards the Keswick Bridge and Chanonry point (famous for it’s dolphins which feed on salmon and sea trout daily at the confluensce of the tides). The Fort is built in a unique star formation which multiple walls and ditches, draw bridges, a moat which can be flooded (at high tide only via a sluice gate by the sea water), if it were to be attacked. The Fort was built in such a way that supplies could come by land or sea, as the Fort has it’s own harbour.
Fort George covers a large area and would require a lot of walking for those with limited mobility. Their are scooters available for hire/borrow but again, if wishing to enter the old buildings and rooms, these are not easily accessible. As these were built at a time where accessibility laws had never been thought off never mind written. The museum is on three floors and crammed full of medals, uniforms and interesting articles and information boards. There is the old prison, bunkers, the old cinema, so much to see and visit but again this might be difficult for those with limited mobility.
