North East Coast
Contents |
The far North East Coast
Strathpeffer | Tain | The Dornoch Firth | Dornoch | Wick
The east coast of the Scottish Highlands, from Inverness north to Wick, doesn't have the same draw as the west coast and attracts far fewer visitors, but it has its own, gentler appeal, and there are many lovely little seaside towns to explore. The sea lochs and estuaries of the inner Moray Firth are fringed with fields and woods, a fertile lowland landscape dotted with farms and crofts. Fast-flowing rivers drop from the hills through deep, wooded straths. The bulk of Ben Wyvis dominates the horizon northwest of Dingwall.
Caledonian Hotel (hotel website), The Caledonian Hotel, Portmahomack provides friendly, comfortable accommodation in a beach-front village setting on the east coast of the Scottish Highlands. STB 3-star rated. If you are looking for good value for money in a child and dog friendly establishment, then use them as your base for touring the North of Scotland. Good for Fishing, 9 hole Golf Course, Owner has horses which guest may use Bird & Dolphin Watching Archeology Reservations Email Address or call 01862-871345
Across the Dornoch Firth is Sutherland - the south land of the Norsemen - where the coastal strip of fertile land narrows towards Helmsdale, backed by heather-clad hills deep blue in the reflective sea light. Prehistoric sites are abundant throughout East Sutherland, as are Pictish sculptured stones in Easter Ross. The seagoing Norsemen of Orkney used the firths to extend Viking influence into the Pictish lands, lured by good land and timber for shipbuilding. Dingwall was their Thingvallr - or place of assembly. Many existing villages grew up around Celtic Christian missions of the seventh or eighth centuries. From the 11th century Tain was an important place of pilgrimage, and the cathedrals at Dornoch and Fortrose, and Fearn Abbey, date from the 13th century.
The Black Isle
Phone code: +44 (0)1381 Across the Kessock Bridge from Inverness is the Black Isle, which is neither an island nor black. It shares with the Moray coast long hours of sunshine and low rainfall, rolling acres of barley and stately woods of oak and beech dropping down to the shores. It also has a compelling atmosphere - a combination perhaps of its soft microclimate, lush vegetation and attractive architecture. Its main attractions are the picturesque town of Cromarty and Chanonry Point, on the southern side near Rosemarkie, which is one of the best dolphin-spotting sites in Europe.
On the north side of the Kessock Bridge is the North Kessock Tourist Information Centre, Tel. 01463-731505; open daily from Easter to October. Next door is the Dolphin and Seal Visitor Centre, which gives details of accredited dolphin cruises. You can see dolphins from the village of North Kessock just to the south.
One of the many sacred wells (and caves) in the area is the unmissable Clootie Well, on the verge of the main road between Tore and Munlochy Bay Nature Reserve. It was once blessed by St Curitan (see below under Rosemarkie) and is thought to cure sick children. Thousands of rags still flutter from the surrounding trees, though well-worshippers are in danger of being mown down by traffic. Despite the presence of traffic, it's an eerie place. Go at night, if you dare.
Fortrose & Chanonry Point
Fortrose, on the east shore. The magnificent cathedral at Fortrose is now largely a ruin where rainwashed carved faces of rose-coloured sandstone peer down from roof bosses, and snapped-off stumps of window tracery are redolent of Reformation vandalism. On the golf course at Chanonry Point, overlooking the Moray Firth, a plaque marks the spot where the Brahan Seer was boiled in a barrel of tar (see below). Chanonry Point is also a great place for seeing dolphins. They come close to shore at high tide and there's a good chance of seeing them leaping above the waves.
Rosemarkie
A few miles from Fortrose on the north side of Chanonry Point is the tiny village of Rosemarkie. Celtic saints Curitan and Boniface selected this sheltered spot on the southern shore for their Christian mission in the seventh century. St Boniface is remembered at nearby St Bennet's Well. Groam Museum houses a superb collection of Pictish sculptured stones found locally, imaginatively displayed alongside contemporary artwork inspired by them. A year-round programme of events and lectures is devoted to the study of Pictish culture. Info - Easter-Sep Mon-Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1400-1630; Oct-Apr Sat and Sun 1400-1600, free,Tel. 620961. Beware of fairies, last sighted in the 1970's in Fairy Glen, now a nature reserve. A lovely marked trail leads into the glen from the top end of the High Street, through a wooded gorge where you may spot woodpeckers and treecreepers. A couple of places to eat in Rosemarkie are Crofters, Tel. 620844, on the seafront, which does cheap bar meals; and the Plough Inn, near the museum.
Cromarty
On the northeastern tip of the Black Isle Peninsula, at the mouth of the Cromarty Firth, is the gorgeous village of Cromarty, one of the east coast's major attractions. Its neat white-harled houses interspersed with gracious merchants' residences are almost unchanged since the 18th century when it was a sea port thriving on trade as far afield as Russia and the Baltic. Many emigrants bound for the New World embarked here. A prosperity based on textiles and fishing led to decline and dereliction.
Phone code: +44 (0)1381
Ins & outs
There are regular daily buses from Inverness and a bus service twice a week to and from Dingwall.
Cromarty has its own website: www.cali.co.uk/highexp/Cromarty
Sights
Although restored and much inhabited, Cromarty now has the atmosphere of a backwater, but a very attractive one at that, where you feel as if you're stepping back in time, in stark contrast to the numerous oil rigs moored on the opposite shore in Nigg Bay (see below). For a fascinating insight into the history of the area, visit the 18th-century Cromarty Courthouse, in Church Street, which houses the town's museum. Info - Apr-Oct daily 1000-1700, £4.50, concssion/children £3.50, includes loan of headset for recorded tour of the town's other historic buildings, which houses the town's museum. T600418. Next to the courthouse is the thatch-roofed Hugh Miller's Cottage, birthplace of the eminent local geologist and author. Info- 31 Mar-30 Sep daily 1230-1630, Oct Sun-Wed 1230-1630, £5, concession £4, family £14. T600245. Also worth seeing is the elegant 17th-century East Church.
There's a good walk along a coastal path from the east end of the village through woodland to the top of the South Sutor headland, one of the two steep headlands guarding the narrow entrance to the Cromarty Firth. There are excellent views from here across the Moray Firth. Leaflets describing this and other local walks are available at the Cromarty Courthouse.
One of Cromarty's main attractions is its dolphins. They can be seen from the shore, or with a boat trip, but make sure you go with an accredited operator, such as Dolphin Ecosse, Tel. 600323. Full-day or half-day trips leave from the harbour and you can see porpoises and seals as well as dolphins, and perhaps even killer whales further out. To the west, the mudflats of Udale Bay are an RSPB reserve and a haven for wading birds and wintering duck and geese, which can be viewed from a hide. In the winter other birds such as pinkfooted geese and whooper swans use the bay as a roost.
Poyntzfield Herb Garden is an organic plant nursery specializing in rare and native medicinal herbs. Worth visiting if only for a glimpse of the house, and the view from the car park over the Cromarty Firth through massive beech trees.
Sleeping & eating
For such an appealing place, there's precious little accommodation. The best place to stay is the Royal Hotel, on Marine Terrace, Tel. 600217, royalcrom@cali.co.uk It has a good restaurant, and cheaper meals are available in the bar. There are a couple of B&Bs, including the very good Beechfield House at 4 Urquhart Court, Tel. 600308, beechfield@cali.co.uk Another good place to eat is Thistle's Restaurant on Church St, Tel. 600471, which has a moderately priced and imaginative menu, including interesting vegetarian dishes. A great place for tea and scones is Binnie's Tearoom on Church St. For cheap bar food try the Cromarty Arms, opposite the Cromarty Courthouse, which also has live music some nights.
It's advisable to book ahead during the summer.
Transport
A 2-car ferry crosses to Nigg every half hour from Apr to Oct, 0900-1800. Highland Bus & Coach, Tel. 01463-233371, runs a bus service from Inverness to Fortrose and Cromarty (4-7 times daily Mon-Sat). There is also a bus service to and from Dingwall on Wed and Thu.
A seerious crime
The Brahan SeerSeer, Brahan was boiled in a barrel of tar in 1660 but not before he had foretold the building of the Caledonian Canal and Kessock Bridge, the Highland Clearances and the Second World War. He also predicted the demise of the local lairds and the Seaforths. It was Lady Seaforth who ordered his execution, after the seer had a vision of her husband in the arms of another woman. Apparently the precise spot where he met his end is now the 13th hole of the golf course at Chanonry Point, which just goes to prove that it is indeed unlucky for some.