Chanonry Point – Watching the Moray Firth Dolphins
A few hours.
The route
Chanonry Point is a narrow spit of shingle and grass reaching out into the Moray Firth between Fortrose and Rosemarkie on the Black Isle, with a white lighthouse at its tip.
The firth's bottlenose dolphins chase fish through the channel right beside the beach, often only a few metres from the stones, and on a rising tide in summer you may see them leap. It's a lovely hour or two, children included.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The day
Chanonry
An hour or two on the stones behind the lighthouse, binoculars ready, waiting for the dolphins to come in with the tide.
About two hours
Chanonry Point
An attraction
Chanonry Point is at the end of the road through the golf course from Fortrose: turn right just after the police station. The small car park beside the lighthouse charges from March to October, 9am to 5pm (£1 for an hour, £3 for up to three hours, Blue Badge holders free), and it fills and jams on summer afternoons. Parking in Fortrose and Rosemarkie is free, and it's about 1¾ miles' walk to the Point from either. From Fortrose, go down the Ness Gap and onto the footpath past the campsite; from Rosemarkie's sea front, walk along the beach when the tide allows. The dolphins are most likely on a rising tide, from about an hour after low water, so check the tide times before you set off. They come in most often in summer and far less in winter, and from June into August locals swap the latest sightings round the Point. Grey seals and porpoises turn up too. Watch from the shingle behind the lighthouse and never go in the water: the currents here are strong and dangerous, so keep children and dogs close at the edge. There are no toilets at the Point; the nearest are in Fortrose and Rosemarkie.
If it rains
Chanonry Point is open shingle with no shelter. In rain the dolphins may still come in, so a waterproof and a flask are all it takes; in a gale or low cloud, leave it for a calmer day.