Black Isle and around
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-> Black Isle and around
Sandwiched between the Cromarty Firth to the north and, to the south, the Moray and Beauly firths which separate it from Inverness, the Black Isle is not an island at all, but a fertile peninsula whose rolling hills, prosperous farms and stands of deciduous woodland make it more reminiscent of Dorset or Sussex than the Highlands. It probably gained its name because of its mild climate: there's rarely frost, which leaves the fields "black" all winter; another explanation is that the name derives from the Gaelic word for black, dubh - a possible corruption of St Duthus.
The Black Isle is littered with dozens of prehistoric sites, but the main incentive to make the detour east from the A9 is to visit the picturesque eighteenth-century town of Cromarty, huddled at the northeast tip of the peninsula. A string of villages along the south coast is also worth stopping off in en route, and one of them, Rosemarkie, has an outstanding small museum devoted to Pictish culture. Nearby Chanonry Point is among the best dolphin-spotting sites in Europe.
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