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A gravel path through the churchyard to St Duthus Collegiate Church in Tain, a Celtic cross and clipped yews beside it.
Easter Ross

Tain Museum

The museum of Tain and Easter Ross, in the grounds of St Duthus Collegiate Church, telling of the saint, the medieval pilgrims and King James IV, with the Clan Ross Centre.

Welcome

For centuries Tain was one of the great pilgrim destinations of the north, drawn by the relics of its own saint, St Duthac.

Its museum stands in the peaceful churchyard of St Duthus Collegiate Church, among old stones and yews, and tells that story.

Two galleries follow the saint and the pilgrims who came to his shrine. The most famous of them was King James IV, who made the journey to Tain at least eighteen times. There is a fascinating collection from Easter Ross besides: a hoard of foreign coins, and fine silver made by Tain's own silversmiths. The Clan Ross Centre is here too.

By the museum door stands the Ardjachie Stone, a boulder found on a farm in 1960, carved with Bronze Age cup marks and two rare Pictish symbols. The museum opens Tuesday to Friday from April to October.

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The Daily for 31 October, from Scotland with love. A ring of standing stones set among mist and autumn birch
A short drive awayMilk & Honey15 min by roadSee itMilk & Honey
Before you go

Open Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 4pm, from April to October.

The grounds are free; there is a small charge for the museum.

Where
Tower Street, Tain, IV19 1DY.
Open
Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 4pm, April to October.
Outside
The Ardjachie Pictish stone.

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Where it is

On Tower Street in Tain, in the churchyard of St Duthus Collegiate Church, IV19 1DY.

Close byTain.
  1. Weathered standing stone against a sandstone wall behind green railingsArdjachie StoneA sandstone slab found by local farmers in the 1960s, now at the entrance to the Tain MuseumUnder a mile 1 min by road
  2. Restaurant tables laid with cutlery beside large windows overlooking the streetGreens RestaurantUnder a mile 1 min by road
  3. Platform 1864Platform 1864Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Tain Golf ClubTain Golf ClubLinks golf on the Dornoch Firth.Under a mile 2 min by road
  5. Copper stills line the Glenmorangie Distillery still house in rowsGlenmorangie DistilleryThe distillery just north of the town.2 miles 4 min by road
  6. Hilton of Cadboll StoneHilton of Cadboll StoneA great Pictish cross-slab on the coast.8 miles 17 min by road
Directions
AttractionsCarnegie Links at Skibo Castle5.1 miles
Ruined stone church with bell tower surrounded by weathered gravestonesAttractionsFearn Abbey5.6 miles
Weathered standing stones scattered across a grassy clearing edged with bare treesAttractionsClach Biorach5.6 miles
Copper still above whisky barrels spelling Balblair outside the distillery buildingsAttractionsBalblair Distillery5.6 miles
White single-storey building with "Inver Inn" lettering under a dark skyRestaurantsInver Inn5.8 miles
Timber-clad barn buildings with covered walkway and coloured flags along the rooflineShoppingAnta6.6 miles
Stone building with slate roof and chimneys behind a low white wallRestaurantsBalintore Inn7.5 miles
Bronze mermaid statue perched on a rock along the shorelineAttractionsMermaid of the North7.5 miles
Wooded headland juts into a wide loch beneath rolling grey hillsAttractionsStruie Hill Viewpoint7.8 miles

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Stay nearby

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

A grand stone mansion glows with lit windows at dusk, bare autumn branches framing the facade.Links House at Royal Dornoch
  • To stay
  • In Dornoch
  • 5 miles from Tain Museum
Check datesA 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
  • 12 miles from Tain Museum
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
  • 18 miles from Tain Museum
Free 31 Oct – 2 NovCulbin Edge, Inverness-shireCulbin Edge
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Brodie
  • 19 miles from Tain Museum
Free 9–11 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in Easter RossAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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What we have written about it and more in Easter Ross.

ArticleA Day Ashore in Invergordon
More in Easter Ross
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For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .