Another major Highland attraction will emerge from lockdown today when Inverness Botanic Gardens welcomes back visitors.
The gardens will be open seven days a week from 10am-4pm and is the latest visitor facility to re-open under High Life Highland’s “bounceback” campaign.
Visits must be pre-booked to help manage capacity, reduce queuing times, and assist customer flow to avoid congestion. Ten slots will be available every 15 minutes and can be booked online.
Ewan Mackintosh, Inverness Botanic Gardens and Nursery Manager, said: “We are looking forward to see visitors back at the gardens from Monday as part of our bounceback campaign.
“Our priority is the safety of our customers and staff, while still providing an enjoyable experience when people come to visit this city attraction.
“We are all delighted to once again be able to share the gardens with our many visitors.”
Councillor Graham Ross, depute provost and leader of Inverness and area, said, “The gardens are in full bloom and looking great just now, it is a credit to the staff who have done a tremendous job keeping everything ticking over during lockdown.
“The opening of Inverness Botanic Gardens provides another positive step towards returning to some normality and I am sure the systems put in place will be supported by residents and visitors to the area.”
Meanwhile, a collect and return service will begin at Inverness Library today. Book lovers will be able to request items in advance and book a timeslot for collection.
Julie Corcoran, principal libraries manager, said: “The safety of our customers, our staff and our communities is our priority as we look to begin providing services again at our libraries across the Highlands.
“We hope to gradually reinstate library browsing and access to our public access computing facilities shortly thereafter as we introduce a range of appropriate measures to ensure the safety of both customers and staff.”
“The process has already been tested and implemented in other libraries, where we’ve had a steady stream of customers all welcoming the return of the service and offering very positive feedback on how the system is working.
“We very much look forward to welcoming our customers, regulars and new, back to a full library service when it is safe and appropriate to do so.”
The Highland Folk Museum and Fort William library will re-open on Wednesday.
Inverness Museum and Art Gallery will return on August 4, followed by libraries in Dingwall and Portree in early-mid August, the Highland Archive Centre in mid-late August and Skye and Lochalsh Archive Centres in late August-September.