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Beaches
in Ross and Cromarty.

It’s 20:57 in Ross and Cromarty.
Ross and Cromarty

From Rosemarkie to Gruinard Bay.

The beaches of Ross and Cromarty face two very different seas. On the Black Isle, a simple strip of sand runs along the front of Rosemarkie, with wooded cliffs at one end and the Moray Firth in front. Further up the east coast, a long bay of pale sand and dunes stretches out from the Seaboard villages. In the west, Gruinard Bay has clear water and rock pools, a lane from Laide ends at white sand looking out to Suilven, and a shingle bay curves round Loch Kanaird near Ullapool. Bring a warm layer, as the wind off the sea can be cold.

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Beach of the day18 hours ago

Beach at Rosemarkie.

A sandy beach along the front of the old village of Rosemarkie on the Black Isle, looking out over the Moray Firth, with Marine Terrace behind it.

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From our guide16 hours ago

Cromarty Ferry.

One of the small pleasures of the Black Isle is crossing the mouth of the Cromarty Firth on its little summer ferry. It runs from a slipway at the eastern end of Cromarty to Nigg on the far shore, carrying just two cars and a handful of foot passengers. Drivers reverse on under the crew's guidance, and the crossing takes about ten minutes. Watch for dolphins, seals and seabirds on the way, and for the oil rigs moored in the firth. It saves the long drive round by Dingwall. Sailings stop in rough weather, so check before you set out.

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From our guide13 hours ago

Tarbat Ness Lighthouse.

At the tip of the Tarbat peninsula, where the land runs out between the Dornoch and Moray Firths, a white tower with two broad red bands stands above low red cliffs. At 41 metres, Tarbat Ness is the tallest lighthouse on the Scottish mainland. Robert Stevenson built it, and its light was first shown in 1830. It is still working, so the tower is closed, but the headland is open to wander. Layered red rock steps down into the sea, and seals and dolphins are sometimes offshore. A circular walk links it with Portmahomack and Rockfield.

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From our guide11 hours ago

Mellon Udrigle Beach.

From Laide, on the coast road of Wester Ross, a single-track lane runs north along Gruinard Bay and ends at a handful of cottages. Just short of them, a boardwalk leads through the dunes to Camas a'Charaig, a broad sweep of white sand sloping into clear turquoise water. The view makes it, with the mountains lined up across the sea: the long side of Suilven, the hills of Coigach and the jagged ridge of An Teallach. There are no facilities at all, so bring everything you need for the day.

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From the magazine8 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
Somewhere to go6 hours ago

Ardmair Beach, Easter Ross.

A long curving shingle bay on Loch Kanaird three miles north of Ullapool, sheltered by Isle Martin, below the great ridge of Ben More Coigach.

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From our guide3 hours ago

Cromarty Lighthouse.

On the harbour front in Cromarty, a short white tower stands beside a low row of keepers' cottages. Alan Stevenson, uncle of Robert Louis Stevenson, designed it, and it was first lit in 1846, its lamp burning whale oil. It guided ships into the Cromarty Firth for a hundred and sixty years until it was switched off in 2006. Now it has a second life. The University of Aberdeen uses it as a field station, and researchers here study the dolphins, seals and seabirds of the Moray Firth. It is best seen on an easy stroll along the sea front from the harbour.

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From our guide1 hour ago

Chanonry Point.

There are few better ways to spend a morning than waiting for dolphins at Chanonry Point. A long spit of land runs out from Fortrose into the Moray Firth, with Alan Stevenson's white lighthouse of 1846 at its tip. Here the firth narrows and the tide races through, and the bottlenose dolphins come in to hunt only a few metres from the shingle. The best time is from about an hour after low tide, so check the tide tables before you go. Bring a flask and some patience. Parking at the point is tight in summer, and the walk out from Fortrose is a lovely one.

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BeachesJust now

Shandwick Beach.

A long sandy bay backed by dunes at the southern end of the Seaboard villages, whose Norse name means sand bay, below the hill of the Shandwick Stone.

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