Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
FORTROSE & ROSEMARKIE
At
Fortrose Cathedral
you'll find the vaulted crypt of a 13th-century chapter house and
sacristy, and the ruinous 14th-century south aisle and chapel.
Chanonry Point
, 1.5 miles
east, is a favourite dolphin-spotting lookout - there are one-hour
dolphin-watching
cruises
(
01381-622383;
www.dolphintripsavoch.co.uk
; adult/child £13/9)
departing
from Avoch (pronounced 'auch'), 3 miles southwest.
In Rosemarkie, the
Groam House Museum
(
01381-620961;
www.groamhouse.org.uk
; High St; admission free; 11am-4.30pm Mon-Fri, 2-4.30pm
Sat Apr-Oct, 2-4pm Sat only Nov)
has a superb collection of Pictish stones engraved with
designs similar to those on Celtic Irish stones.
From the northern end of Rosemarkie's High St, a short but pleasant signposted walk
leads you through the gorges and waterfalls of the
Fairy Glen
.
Once you've worked up a thirst, retire to the bar at the
Anderson Hotel
(
01381-620236;
www.theanderson.co.uk
;
Union St)
to sample its range of real ales (in-
cluding Belgian beers and Somerset cider) and more than 200 single malt whiskies.
ERLEND & PAMELA TAIT: ARTISTS
Erlend and Pamela Tait are artists from Fortrose on the Black Isle. They exhibit internationally and you can see their
work at
www.erlendtait.com
and
www.pamelatait.co.uk
.
Highland artists whose work you admire?
Erlend:
Tim Maclean, Michael Forbes, Allan MacDonald, Gordon
Robin Brown, Shaun MacDonald, Jonathan Shearer, Kirstie Cohen.
Pamela:
There's also Jennifer Houliston, Gerald Laing, Fin MacRae, Alex Dunn, Rosie Newman, Angus Mcphee
and Alex Main.
Top Highland art galleries? Highland Institute for Contemporary Art
(
www.h-i-c-a.org
)
, near Dores,
Browns
Gallery
(
www.brownsart.com
) in Tain,
Moray Art Centre
(
www.morayartcentre.org
)
in Findhorn and
Inverness
Museum & Art Gallery
Offline map
Google map
(
Click here
)
.
Best secret spots?
Erlend:
The Black Isle is worth exploring -
Learnie Red Rock
for mountain biking, Groam
House Museum (
Click here
)
for everything Pictish, Hugh Miller's Cottage & Museum (
Click here
)
for local geo-
logy and folklore. And the
Clootie Well
is a magical place where you hang a piece of your clothing to cure an ail-
ment or bring you good luck.
Pamela:
Dogs Falls
over at Glen Affric, and there's a lovely wee walk at
Reelig Forest
near Beauly which has
some of the tallest trees in Britain. You must visit the
Pirates Graveyard
in Cromarty followed by the Cromarty
Bakery (
Click here
) which sells the nicest bread ever, and great pies!
