Cromarty
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An ancient legend recalls that the twin headlands flanking the entrance to the Cromarty Firth, known as The Sutors (from the Gaelic word for shoemaker), were once a pair of giant cobblers who used to protect the Black Isle from pirates. Nowadays, however, the only giants in the area are Nigg and Invergordon's colossal oil rigs, marooned in the estuary like metal monsters marching out to sea. Built and serviced here for the Forties oil field in the North Sea, they form a surreal counterpoint to the web of tiny streets and chocolate-box workers' cottages of CROMARTY, the Black Isle's main settlement. Although a royal burgh since the fourth century, Cromarty didn't became a prominent port until 1772 when the entrepreneurial local landlord, George Ross, founded a hemp mill here. Imported Baltic hemp was spun into cloth and rope in the mill, fuelling a period of prosperity during which Cromarty acquired some of Scotland's finest Georgian houses; these, together with the terraced fishers' cottages of the nineteenth-century herring boom, have left the town with a wonderfully well-preserved concentration of Scottish domestic architecture.
To get a sense of Cromarty's past, head straight for the award-winning museum housed in the old Courthouse on Church Street (daily: April-Oct 10am-5pm; Nov-Dec & March noon-4pm; £3), which tells the history of the town using audiovisuals and animated figures. You are also issued with a personal stereo, a tape and a map for a walking tour around the town. Hugh Miller, a nineteenth-century stonemason turned author, geologist, folklorist and Free Church campaigner, was born in Cromarty, and his birthplace (May-Sept Mon-Sat 11am-1pm & 2-5pm, Sun 2-5pm; NTS; £2.50), a modest thatched cottage on Church Street, has been restored to give an idea of what Cromarty must have been like in his day.
The widely respected Dolphin Écosse (tel 01381/600323, www.dolphinecosse.co.uk) runs half- or full-day boat trips to see seals, porpoises, bottle-nosed dolphins and occasionally minke whales from their Dolphin Centre by the harbour behind the Royal Hotel. The tiny two-car Nigg-Cromarty ferry (May-Sept daily 9am-6pm), Scotland's smallest, also doubles up as a cruiser on summer evenings; you can catch it from the jetty near the lighthouse.
Nine buses a day run to Cromarty from Inverness (55min), returning from the car park at the bottom of Forsyth Place. For B&B, try one of the attractive old houses on Church Street, such as Mrs Robertson's at no. 7 (tel 01381/600488; under £40), where you can also rent bikes. Above the town, Beechfield House (tel 01381/600308; £40-50) offers modern rooms and good views. The most down-to-earth place to eat is the Cromarty Arms, which has a beer garden and serves basic, inexpensive bar meals - it also has occasional live music. The Royal Hotel's restaurant features Scottish specialities, while cheaper meals are available in the cosy public bar or, on fine nights, on the terrace outside with great views over the firth.
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