Kirking of the Council 2024

The historic annual Kirking of the Council parade and church service takes place on Sunday 8 September 2024.

The Kirking of the Council service will be held in Ness Bank Church and led by the Rev. Stuart Smith.

Staff and Members of The Highland Council along with guests from the University of the Highlands and Islands and community councils will parade, led by the City of Inverness Pipe Band along with uniformed youth groups and school representatives.

The colourful Kirking parade begins in Inverness High Street at 10.30am and travels towards the Town House where they will be joined by Civic Leaders, Depute Provosts Morven Reid and Jackie Hendry, Councillors and representatives from various organisations serving the city and  also by Students and Teachers from the Maria-Theresia-Gymnasium Augsburg from Inverness’s Twinned City of Augsburg. The parade will then make its way from Inverness Town House down Bridge Street, left onto Castle Road and to Ness Bank Church.

The service in Ness Bank Church - which is open to all - begins at 11.00am. Due to the popularity of the Kirking those intending to join the congregation are asked to arrive in good time to take their seats. After the service the procession will then form up in Castle Road before returning to the Town House.

The following temporary road closures will take effect to enable the public safety during the Kirking of the Council parade on Sunday 8 September 2024:

• High Street, Inverness, will be closed at its junction with Eastgate to its junction with Bridge Street, between 10:30 and 10:45, and between 12:10 and 12:25;
• Bridge Street, Inverness, will be closed at its junction with High Street to its junction with Bank Street, between 10:35 and 10:50, and between 12:05 and 12:20; and
• Castle Road, Inverness, will be closed at its junction with Bank Street to its junction with Haugh Road, between 10:40 and 10:55, and between 12:00 and 12:15.

The Kirking is the oldest annual gathering staged in the City of Inverness and brings over 400 years of tradition and pageantry to the streets of Highland Capital. The Kirking is usually held on the morning of the second Sunday in September and marks the official end of the Inverness Summer Festivals programme.