I had intended my first investigation for The Highland Times to be a straightforward examination of the Inverness Tourist Board, but after several days travelling around on my bus pass and asking questions, I am no longer entirely certain that either the board or Dingwall exists.

The Inverness Tourist Board, or ITB, has 50,000 Facebook followers, more than 10,000 followers on Instagram, a website, an email address and a remarkable capacity for making pronouncements on matters extending considerably beyond tourism.

What it does not appear to have is an easily identifiable board.

I began my enquiries in Inverness, using my bus pass wherever possible because investigative journalism is expensive and there seems little point paying for transport when the Scottish Government is prepared to assist.

I travelled around the city, walked its streets, spoke to people and attempted to identify the individuals behind an organisation which maintains an enormous public presence while remaining remarkably elusive in physical form.

Nobody could direct me to headquarters, introduce me to a chairman or identify a board member.

ITB itself appears arcane, surly and mysterious, while its 50,000 followers display a devotion occasionally reminiscent of that accumulated by L Ron Hubbard’s Scientology, although I have uncovered no evidence that ITB operates a religion or possesses a naval wing.

I began to wonder whether I was dealing with something closer to Highland folklore, an entity supported by thousands of reported encounters but remarkably difficult to locate when somebody actually goes looking for it.

Fortunately, we have an established benchmark.

The Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register records 1,179 sightings of Nessie dating back to 565 AD, together with 17 separately recorded webcam images since 2021.

I therefore had considerably more documented sightings of the Loch Ness Monster than identifiable members of the Inverness Tourist Board.

Then I discovered Dingwall.

ITB has repeatedly promoted the proposition that Dingwall does not exist, something I initially dismissed because I had always understood it to be a town around 14 miles north west of Inverness.

Accepting that without investigation, however, would have been poor journalism.

I decided to go there.

My bus pass was ready.

Finding a bus prepared to take me to Dingwall proved considerably more problematic.

People assured me they had visited Dingwall and several claimed to live there, but testimony from people asserting residence in a place whose very existence is under investigation must obviously be treated with appropriate caution.

There are road signs, maps and even a football club claiming to play there, but by now I was considerably further down the rabbit hole than intended and had almost forgotten I originally set out to find a tourist board.

Nessie was beginning to look straightforward.

After reviewing the available evidence, I remain unable to confirm the physical existence of the Inverness Tourist Board and can neither confirm nor deny the existence of Dingwall.

The Loch Ness Monster, meanwhile, has 1,179 recorded sightings.

I have therefore provisionally classified Nessie as the easiest of the three to substantiate.

My enquiries continue.

If you have evidence concerning ITB, Dingwall or another matter requiring investigation, contact me at conspiracycorner@thehighlandtimes.com