CROMARTY

Cromarty stands on a nose-shaped protuberance of land at the mouth of the Cromarty Firth. The town's buildings largely date from the 18th and 19th centuries, and one of them was the birthplace of an eminent geologist and writer called Hugh Miller. The house is now open to visitors, and there is also a memorial to Miller nearby. Another attraction in the town is the Cromarty Courthouse, built in 1773, which has been turned into a museum which, as well as local history exhibits, retains the prison cells and trial room dating from its time as a place of punishment. Cromarty East Church featured in the BBC Restoration series, being voted best runner up. The church is thought to be of medieval origin, due to the discovery of a 14th century grave found inside the church, but the building is mostly 18th century. As well as Miller, another famous figure associated with the town was the 17th century Sir Thomas Urquhart, who translated the works of Rabelais. He is reputed to have died as a result of a fit of laughter on learning of the restoration of Charles II to the throne.

It is possible to walk along the foreshore from Cromarty to the South Sutor headland, from where there are fine views of the Cromarty Firth and looking across to North Sutor across a narrow channel. Or you can walk along to the Links, where there is an Emigration Stone, erected in 2002 to commemorate the emigrant ships which left for the Colonies in the 19th century. The town's harbour offers dolphin watching trips, and there is also sea kayaking available.  The town's lighthouse was decommissioned in 2006, but performs an important role as the home of a bottlenose dolphin project run by the University of Aberdeen.

Map of the area.

Cromarty and Cromarty Firth. Photo by Bob Jones, via Wikimedia Commons