Today I met one of the archivists from Inverness, and we talked about their recent and forthcoming developments. Here is a summary:

The NEW LOCHABER ARCHIVES are the latest branch of the Highland Archives, ten years after the North Highland Archive opened in Wick. The address is:
Lochaber Archives
Lochaber College
An Aird
Fort William
PH33 6AN
Scotland

They are now officially open and all the records relating to Lochaber
(including Ardnamurchan and the portions that were part of Argyll before
1975), the burgh of Fort William and the islands of Muck, Rhum, Eigg and
Canna have been moved there from Inverness. The Archivist there is Zoe
Watson and her email address is zoe.watson@highland.gov.uk

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The Skye Archives will hopefully be opening this year as well- There is a
trainee archivist in Portree already: Anne MacLeod, whose address is:

Dualchas Heritage Service
The Highland Council
Tigh na Sgire
Park Lane
Portree
Isle of Skye
IV51 9GP
Tel. 01478 613857
anne.macleod2@highland.gov.uk

 All the records now held in Inverness that cover Skye, Raasay and the
Lochalsh area will be sent there as soon as a building to put them in has been acquired.
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 As you may have heard, the official sod-cutting ceremony recently inaugurated the start of building the new combined Highland Archives and Registrars at Inverness. It will be 2009 before they move in, but it will be a state-of-the-art facility, and will allow the transfer of many documents from the National Archives in Edinburgh to the new Inverness repository. This has two advantages: 1. It allows for a greater access to Highland material in the Highland capital, and 2. It permits (indeed, forces!) the move of local material from Inverness to the branch archives now being set up. The net result will be a much more localised service to researchers who are visiting the Highlands.

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