A new set of interpretive panels focusing on the historic Northern Meeting Park in Inverness will be formally unveiled in the Park on Friday afternoon (5 June 2026).
The panels, and accompanying online content, have been created through a community heritage project (the Northern Meeting Park Stories Project) which was run by a partnership of The Highland Council and High Life Highland with funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. They tell the story of how the Park came to be built as the world’s first purpose-built Highland Games venue and chart its important role since 1864 as a focus for sport and entertainment for local people and visitors to Inverness.
The unveiling event, which is open to the public, will take place at 3.15pm and will be followed by an informal opportunity to see the panels and to enjoy a selection of activities including mini Highland Games taster sessions, bagpiping, Highland dancing and archive displays relating to the Park. There will also be a fun singalong of ‘Haste ye back’, the closing song of ‘The ‘Kilt is our Delight’ summer show which ran at the Park for many years. In addition, there will be an opportunity to see the Park’s historic grandstand – now beautifully restored – and its new community pavilion. The grandstand refurbishment and the new pavilion were funded by the UK Government.
Leader of Inverness and Area, Cllr Ian Brown said: “This unveiling event marks the culmination of the Northern Meeting Park Stories Project, which has run over the past two years. It included a very popular series of community heritage workshops, guided walks and pop-up events, where many people shared their memories of the Park and explained why it is a such special place for them. Special workshops and activities were held for pupils in three local primary schools - Central, Bishop Eden’s and St Joseph’s - who use the Park for school sports. The panels and the bespoke structures which house them have all been produced by Highland-based companies, and project participants have been closely involved in the design process.”
He added: “A special thanks go to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for supporting this community heritage project which has allowed so many Park stories to be discovered and brought to the public in the Park and online.”
The Park has been an important focal point for sports and entertainment events in Inverness since 1864 and its history also reflects events in the wider world, such as social changes post-Culloden, the rise of tourism from Victorian times onwards, and the impact of the two world wars. It also holds very special memories for a wide range of local people – from cricketers and rugby players to Highland dancers and armed forces personnel. The project has captured and recorded these memories in writing and in recorded interviews. Many of the stories are included in the panels, including the Highland - Selkirk rugby match of 1976 which saw Highland promoted to the Scottish First Division under Captain Nairn McEwan, the visit of the Olympic torch in 2012, the celebration of Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s Scottish cup win in 2015 , and long-running events such as the Inverness Tattoo, the ‘The Kilt is our Delight’, and the Marymas Fair.
James Martin, High Life Highland’s Director of Community Leisure & Sport added: “In addition to the panels, other information gathered is available in the project’s online offering, while some material collected during the project has also been deposited with the Highland Archive Service in Inverness where it can be seen by members of the public.
“Going further back in the Park’s history, the Project was able to research the fascinating records of the Northern Meeting Society who built the Park and ran the Northern Meeting games there from 1864 to 1939. The Society’s records, which date back to its foundation in 1788, are cared for by the Highland Archive Centre in Inverness, which also has an impressive collection of photographs relating to the Park dating back to the late 1800s/early 1900s. The project has had the bonus of seeing some project participants handing over their photos and souvenir programmes relating to the Park given to the Archive Service for safe-keeping and to be available for future research. Examples include the Macdonald family’s collection of Northern Counties Cricket Club photographs and a copy of the club’s centenary programme, and albums of photographs of the Inverness Tattoo.”
Northern Meeting Park event poster
In addition to featuring historic photographs and stories, the panels also show specially-commissioned photographs of just some of the people with Park stories, including three of the Highland Rugby Club team members who beat Selkirk in 1976, people involved in running or performing in the Inverness Tattoo and ‘The Kilt is our Delight’ show, leading Northern Counties Cricket Club player Mollie Parker, Northern Meeting Piping Competition Convener Derek Fraser, prizewinning local piper Grace Kelman, past and present pupils from Central Primary School, and Calum Laing of Alness, who won the 880 yard race at the 1954 Inverness Games.
The event on Friday is the final instalment of a project which tells the Park’s stories, and which has captured the affection which so many people have for the Park. For a long time, it has been a place where local people and visitors could enjoy memorable events in the company of family and friends. The restored grandstand and new community pavilion mean that the Park can continue to be an important Inverness and Highland venue for sport and entertainment.
The event will take place in the Park on Friday 5 June, 3pm-5pm. Members of the public are very welcome to attend free of charge for the whole event or to drop in any time before 5pm.
The project’s online information can be found at: hlh.scot/NMP
Notes to editors:
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