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A street of white and green-roofed houses curves past a parked car in Cromarty.
Cromarty

Cromarty

A handsome old town at the tip of the Black Isle, of Georgian merchants' houses and fishermen's cottages, with a courthouse museum and Hugh Miller's thatched birthplace.

Welcome

At the very tip of the Black Isle, sheltered by the high Sutors, Cromarty is one of the most handsome old towns in the Highlands.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

Its streets are lined with white Georgian merchants' houses and low fishermen's cottages, many of them built in the 1770s, when the laird George Ross gave the town its harbour and its factories for cloth, rope and ironwork.

On Church Street stand three buildings that tell its story. The old Courthouse stands on Church Street; beside it is Miller House; and next door is the thatched cottage where Hugh Miller, stonemason, fossil hunter, writer and reformer, was born in 1802. The East Church at the end of the street is one of the best preserved Presbyterian churches in Scotland.

Look out across the firth and you will often see oil rigs moored off Nigg. A little ferry crosses in summer, and the town has a cinema, galleries and independent shops. Parking is free.

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Before you go

A town to walk at any hour; the museums and shops keep their own hours.

Where
The tip of the Black Isle, 22 miles from Inverness.
See
The Courthouse and Hugh Miller's cottage.
Parking
Free throughout the town.

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Did you know

A white Georgian townhouse with iron railings sits beside the shore in Ross and Cromarty.
Did you know

A town built in the 1770s.

Much of Cromarty was built in the 1770s by the laird George Ross, who gave it a harbour and factories for cloth, rope and ironwork.

A blue Duke Street sign marks a white house with dark-painted window surrounds in Cromarty.
Did you know

The last thatched cottage.

Hugh Miller's birthplace on Church Street is the only thatched cottage left in Cromarty.

Hidden Scotland

From our guide to Ross and Cromarty

At the very tip of the Black Isle, Cromarty is a beautiful old town to wander for a whole afternoon. Its streets are lined with white Georgian merchants' houses and low fishermen's cottages, many of them built in the 1770s, when the laird George Ross gave the town a harbour and new industries. On Church Street stand the old Courthouse and, a few doors along, the thatched cottage where Hugh Miller was born in 1802. Look across the firth to the oil rigs moored off Nigg. Parking is free, and everything is close together.

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What is on

What is new across Cromarty, day by day.

New places, news and stories, as we find them.

What is on in Cromarty
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Where it is

At the north-east tip of the Black Isle; the 26 bus runs from Inverness, and parking in the town is free.

Close byCromarty.
  1. Calluna clothing shop with hanging baskets on Church StreetCallunaAn independent women's clothes shop in the middle of Cromarty since 2018, with colourful brands, good fabrics and friendly help.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Ingrid's HouseA small gift shop in Cromarty full of Scandinavian homewares, jewellery and bright designs for the home.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. Ochre-painted shop with slate roof and outdoor benches under a grey skySutor Creek CaféFresh seafood and woodfired pizzas at Sutor Creek Café in CromartyUnder a mile 1 min by road
  4. Yellow "cinema" lettering on a dark corrugated building beside the waterCromarty CinemaThe little cinema by the ferry slipway.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. Cromarty FerryCromarty FerryThe seasonal ferry across to Nigg.Under a mile 1 min by road
  6. Craft shop interior with jewellery cabinets, an RNLI lifeboat model and daffodils on the countergallery48A gallery and gift shop on Shore Street.Under a mile 1 min by road
Directions
A hand-painted Cromarty Pottery dish with a striped cat, on a wooden shelf.ShoppingCromarty Pottery0.2 miles
Inside the Fishertown Inn in Cromarty, a long bar of blue panelling and wooden floors with tables by the windows.BarsThe Fishertown Inn0.2 miles
Cromarty lighthouse's white tower and keepers' cottages behind the sea wall under a stormy sky.WalksCromarty Lighthouse0.2 miles
The Renfrew Rose ferry docks at a slipway, an oil rig visible across the firthAttractionsCromarty Ferry Terminal0.2 miles
A Micro Can canning machine fills tins beside steel brewery fermentation tanksAttractionsCromarty Brewing Company3.2 miles
Wooden cabin with sloped roof and ramp, surrounded by autumn treesAttractionsRSPB Udale Bay5.1 miles
Kirkmichael's restored red sandstone church among old gravestones, a gravel path winding through the grass.AttractionsKirkmichael Church6.3 miles
A long sandstone steading with a conical-roofed tower at its centre stands beyond a field of young crops, trees framing it on either side in evening light.BalblairNewhall MainsPlace to stay · 6.9 miles
Sunset breaks through clouds over a mudflat estuary and distant hillsAttractionsUdale Bay Viewpoint7.4 miles

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the town, and when each is next free.

A long sandstone steading with a conical-roofed tower at its centre stands beyond a field of young crops, trees framing it on either side in evening light.Newhall Mains
  • To stay
  • In Balblair
  • 6 miles from Cromarty
Check datesA curved cabin clad in overlapping wooden shingles stands on gravel among wildflowers, arched windows and a door along one side.Boath Cabin
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Nairn
  • 11 miles from Cromarty
Free 15–18 NovCulbin Edge, Inverness-shireCulbin Edge
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Brodie
  • 12 miles from Cromarty
Free 23–25 NovA grand stone mansion glows with lit windows at dusk, bare autumn branches framing the facade.Links House at Royal Dornoch
  • To stay
  • In Dornoch
  • 14 miles from Cromarty
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in CromartyAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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Read on

What we have written about it, the collections it is in and more in Cromarty.

ArticleNewhall Mains: One of Scotland’s Finest FarmstaysArticleThe Best Boutique Hotels in ScotlandCollectionThe Prettiest Villages in Scotland
More in Cromarty

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For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .