Hilton of Cadboll

Fishing has always been at the heart of life here; until the 1890s the boats were hauled up on the beach, and old winches still stand on the grass above the waves.

Hilton's great claim to fame lies just beyond the houses. By the turf-covered footings of a medieval chapel was found one of the finest of all Pictish cross-slabs, carved around 800 AD with a hunting scene. The original is now in Edinburgh, but a full-size replica stands on the old site, and the bumps in the field around it may be the lost medieval village of Cadboll-Fisher.

From the village a shore path runs north past sculpted rocks and seabird cliffs towards Rockfield, and south to Balintore, where the Mermaid of the North sits on her rock.