Fort George

In 1726, the first fortification known as Fort George was completed in Inverness. During the 1745 rising the fort was besieged by three thousand Jacobite’s. Cutoff and unable to be relieved by Crown forces, Fort George was surrendered in February 1746 after mines had reached the outer walls. The victorious Jacobite’s blew up Old Fort George to prevent it being reused as a military base by the British Army. In 1747, following the Crown victory at the battle of Culloden, Colonel William Skinner, the King’s Military Engineer for north Britain, was given a contract to rebuild Fort George. The decision was taken to build the new Fort George at a location 10 mi (16 km) away from Inverness at the mouth of the Moray Firth. The site of Old Fort George lay abandoned for almost 70 years, until in the mid-19th century a red sandstone castellated building called Inverness Castle was built on the fort’s former site. Fort George is still operated to this day by the British Army.

Brodie Castle & Estate

The original Z-plan castle was built in 1567 by Clan Brodie but was destroyed by fire in 1645 by Lewis Gordon of Clan Gordon, the 3rd Marquis of Huntly. In 1824, architect William Burn was commissioned to convert it into a mansion house in the Scots Baronial style, but these additions were never completed and were later re-modelled by James Wylson. The Brodie family called the castle home until the early 21st century. It is widely accepted that the family has been associated with the land on which the castle stands since around 1160, when it is believed that King Malcolm IV gave the land to the family. Architecturally, the castle has a well-preserved 16th-century central keep with two 5-storey towers on opposing corners. The interior of the castle is also well preserved, containing fine antique furniture, oriental artefacts and painted ceilings, largely dating from the 17th–19th centuries.