Blackbeard’s Haunted Ness Islands opens Inverness Winter Festival

The Skull and Cross Bones will fly over Inverness Town House to promote the opening event in the second Inverness Winter Festival, which will run until Hogmanay.

Blackbeard’s Haunted Ness Islands is being staged free of charge between 6 pm – 9 pm on both Friday 30 October and Saturday 31 October, when the beauty spot will be illuminated and inhabited by 100 pirate ghosts and ghouls.

Councillor Roy Pedersen, Chairman of the Inverness Winter Festival Committee, said: “It promises to be a fun night for children and adults alike. The islands is a very popular venue and we expect large crowds to turn out for this special Halloween event. More than 100 ghosts and ghouls are expected to appear between 6 – 9 pm each night, giving families a glimpse of what happens to pirates after they have walked the plank!”

The islands is being illuminated by Arts in Motion and The Highland Council’s lighting department. Eden Court will be providing the pirate ghosts.

Members of the public are being asked to enter the islands via the Bught Park side of the river and follow the directions of their ghostly guides.

For security reasons, the gates to the Ness Islands will be locked from 11 pm – 6 pm over the Halloween weekend.

The next event in the Winter Festival will be the civic bonfire and fireworks display, which will take place at Bught Park on Thursday 5 November.  This year the event will start at 7.30 pm.

The switch on of the Christmas Lights is taking place on Sunday 22 November, starting at 5 pm.

The Ness Islands will feature later in the festival when a lights show will be held for three days, starting on Friday 18 December.

The full programme can be found at www.invernessfestivals.com