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in Ross and Cromarty.

It’s 20:06 in Ross and Cromarty.
Ross and Cromarty

Dolphins from Avoch, a sauna at Rosemarkie.

The Black Isle is full of good ways to spend a day outdoors. From the harbour at Avoch, a small boat takes groups out on the Moray Firth to look for bottlenose dolphins, seals and porpoises. On the grass above Rosemarkie beach, a wood-fired barrel sauna lets you heat up, run into the sea and do it all again. In the woods near Inverness, an adventure park runs paintball, archery and axe throwing. There are easy shore walks at Rosemarkie and Cromarty too. Book the boat and the sauna ahead, and bring a towel and a warm layer.

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Place of the day18 hours ago

Dolphin Trips Avoch.

The Black Isle.

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Did you know17 hours ago

Wild salmon leap the Falls of Rogie, in Ross and Cromarty, every autumn.

The falls are on the Black Water, and a suspension bridge carries walkers over the river to reach them. In autumn wild salmon can be seen leaping the falls. The water is at its best after rain or snow, when it tumbles down from the slopes of Ben Wyvis.

See Falls of Rogie · Ross and Cromarty
From the magazine15 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 12Issue 12Spring / Summer 2026

The little pink house on the shore of Loch Glass, under Ben Wyvis in Easter Ross, looks like a lodge from a picture book, but it is an unfinished, empty shell.

Loch Glass is peaceful and secluded, tucked beneath one of the most prominent mountains near Inverness, and the strange little house leaps out from its surroundings in a burst of colour. Ben Wyvis above it is one of the less challenging Munros, about four to five hours on foot, with a steep climb, a long plateau walk to the summit and views for miles around. North of the loch, and much less visited, Loch Morie draws anglers after trout, salmon and Atlantic char. In 1902 Sir John Murray, the father of modern oceanography, used it in a study of the depths of Scotland's freshwater lochs.

See Loch Glass · Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty14 hours ago

Loch Glass, under Ben Wyvis, is where the river that cut the Black Rock Gorge begins.

Loch Glass lies five and a half miles from Evanton, on the eastern flank of Ben Wyvis in Easter Ross. It is the source of the River Glass, which runs down from here through the Black Rock Gorge. A lone pink house stands on its shore, and above it all the summit of Ben Wyvis rises to 1,046 metres.

Find out more about Loch Glass
Newly discovered13 hours agoThe Black IsleHighland Mobile SaunaActivityThe Black IsleFortrose HarbourAttractionThe Black IsleThe Fishertown InnBarThe Black IsleRosemarkie Beach CaféCafeThe Black IsleThe AndersonBarThe Black IsleCromarty CinemaAttraction

Some good places to go, newly added to the site.

The newest places on our pages in Ross and Cromarty.

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From our guide11 hours ago

Bealach na Bà.

This is the road to drive if you love a mountain pass. The Bealach na Bà, the Pass of the Cattle, climbs from sea level at Loch Kishorn to 626 metres in a little over nine kilometres, with gradients of one in five and tight hairpins near the top. It is single-track all the way, with passing places, so take it slowly. Motorhomes, caravans and nervous drivers should go round by the coast instead. At the summit the view runs back down the corrie and west over the sea to Skye. Then the road drops gently to Applecross and its inn by the shore.

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Did you know10 hours ago

In Ullapool, The Ceilidh Place began in 1970 as a small café in a boatshed, started by the actor Robert Urquhart at Broomview Cottage, where he was born.

He meant it as a place for eating, meeting, talking and singing. It has since grown into a hotel, café-bar and bookshop with a Scottish literary bias, and its venue was voted Music Venue of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards. Live music is often on. The café opens from 8am, and the bar from 11am until late.

See Ceilidh Place · Sutherland
Quiz9 hours ago

How do locals say the name of Avoch, the village on the Black Isle?

Did you know7 hours ago

At Chanonry Point on the Black Isle, bottlenose dolphins come in on the rising tide to hunt salmon and sea trout.

From April to August the best chance of seeing them is to arrive from low tide onwards and stay as the water rises. From September to March there is little pattern to the sightings, and far fewer of them. Parking at the point is very limited, so walk or cycle out from Fortrose or Rosemarkie, each about a mile away.

See Chanonry Point · Ross and Cromarty
From the magazine6 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 12Issue 12Spring / Summer 2026

At the Fairy Glen near Rosemarkie, on the Black Isle, children once decorated a pool beside a spring so that the fairies would keep the water clean and pure.

Hidden in woodland just outside Rosemarkie, the glen holds two small waterfalls that cascade among trees, ferns and moss-covered rocks. The whole Black Isle peninsula is within easy day-trip distance of Inverness, a rural region of beaches, castles, waterfalls, wildlife and harbour towns. Close by, where the Moray Firth narrows, Chanonry Point is famous for the chance to spot the local pod of dolphins, and there is often a crowd watching and waiting eagerly for a sighting among the waves.

See Fairy Glen, Rosemarkie · Ross and Cromarty
Lunch4 hours agoThe Black IsleRosemarkie Beach Café100 yardsThe Black IsleCrofters400 yardsInverness-shireCrofters Café, Rosemarkie400 yards

Lunch near Beach at Rosemarkie.

The three closest tables: Rosemarkie Beach Café, Crofters and Crofters Café, Rosemarkie.

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From our guide3 hours ago

Wildwoodz.

In the woods between Tore and Munlochy, a short drive north of Inverness, Wildwoodz is an outdoor adventure park for a lively day out. There are four main activities: paintball and lasertag games through the trees, an archery range in a woodland clearing, and axe throwing under a long wooden shelter strung with bunting. The instructors make an event of every session, even for two, so it works for families, friends and birthdays alike. There are off-grid cabins too, and seasonal festivals through the year. Activities are booked online, at least five days ahead.

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