Hundreds of skateboarders and BMX bikers showed off their skills at Inverness skate park on Saturday in a long-awaited farewell party.
The run-down ramps at the Bught Park, which have been earmarked for upgrade for years, are finally to be replaced by a specially-designed £250,000 concrete skate park.
Work is expected to start next week and the builders of both the old and new facilities were among the crowd of around 300 at the Ramp Jam Party at the weekend.
Andrew Holborn, of Inverness, designed the original wooden ramps which have now been in place for more than a decade, skated on his creations for the last time.
He was joined by Ian Young, of Concreate Skate Construction, which has been awarded the contract to create the new park.
The farewell event attracted participants from Inverness and the Highlands as well as Moray and further afield with some competitors travelling from Edinburgh for skateboard and bike competitions for children and adults.
Open to skateboarders, BMX riders and in-line skaters, the new park will have a mix of street and bowl features, a bike run and a quarter pipe designed to the look like the Loch Ness Monster.
The Highland Skate Parks Association, which is behind the plans, believes the new facility will be one of the best in Scotland and could attract visitors to the city.
Association chairman Andrew Urquhart, said: “It really was a farewell party. There was a brilliant atmosphere.
“Work is expected to start on the new park on Monday, June 9. The programme is for four months but we are hoping it could be brought forward and we want to complete it no later than September.
“It is has been designed so it is not only good for the users of any wheeled sports equipment but it is also more accommodating for those who are spectating.”
Association treasurer Nigel Campbell said building the new park was in his view the largest leisure investment in the city for a decade and would give the Bught Park a new lease of life.
The association is encouraging people to become members to help finance the maintenance costs of the stake park.