Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
skirting past the quiet town of
Tain
, best known as the home of Glenmorangie whisky,
and the neat town of
Dornoch
itself, an unexpected pleasure known for its cathedral
and golf courses.
Tain
here's a sense of having arrived somewhere as you swing through the handsome
buildings of central
TAIN
. Reputedly Scotland's oldest Royal Burgh, it was the
birthplace of
St Duthus
, an eleventh-century missionary. Many a Middle Ages pilgrim
came to venerate his miracle-working relics, enshrined first in a sanctuary then in
fourteenth-century
St Duthus Collegiate Church
. James IV visited annually, usually fresh
from the arms of his mistress, Janet Kennedy, whom he had installed in nearby Moray.
Tain Through Time
Tower St • April-Oct Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, June-Aug also Sat-Sun 10am-5pm • £3.50 •
T
01862 894089,
W
tainmuseum.org.uk
Installed in three buildings of St Duthus church and graveyard, the town museum,
Tain
Through Time
, is a good place to gen up on the Fearn peninsula's Pictish past and Tain's
pilgrimage history, the latter taking in King James's guilty conscience. here's also a
dressing-up box to entertain the kids. he ticket price includes an audio
walking tour
of
the town; set aside twenty minutes. he same ticket gets you into a neighbouring
museum
that has a dry display of Tain silver, alongside clan memorabilia.
Glenmorangie distillery
Beside the A9, 1.5 miles northwest of central Tain • Tours Mon-Fri 10.30am-3.30pm, Sat 10.30am-2.30pm, Sun 12.30-2.30pm; shop
Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, June-Aug also Sat 10am-4pm & Sun noon-4pm • £5 (book ahead) •
T
01862 892477,
W
glenmorangie.com
Whatever the history, Tain's most popular attraction is the
Glenmorangie
whisky
distillery
. Tours of the distillery and warehouses explain the alchemic process that
ferments mashed malt, distills the liquid in Scotland's tallest stills then matures it in
oak casks to create a delicate, vanillay malt. here's a dram or two to finish, naturally.
12
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
TAIN
By train
Tain is on the Inverness-Thurso North Highlands
line (4 daily; Inverness, 1hr 10min; Thurso 2hr 30min).
By bus
Stagecoach east coast buses from Inverness to
Thurso (#X99) stop in Tain (Mon-Fri every 30min-1hr, Sun
hourly; Inverness 40min-1hr 10min; Thurso 2hr 10min).
ACCOMMODATION
Golf View House
13 Knockbreck Rd
T
01862 892856,
W
golf-view.co.uk.
Just south of the centre, this former
manse offers a lovely B&B stay in its five rooms. Decor is
relaxed contemporary Scottish with a touch of romance
and en-suite bathrooms are excellent. Factor in
fine
views
to the Dornoch Firth and full Scottish breakfasts.
£80
Portmahomack and around
he fishing village of
PORTMAHOMACK
, strung out around a curving sandy beach, is a
surprise after the rolling fields of the
Fearnpeninsula
east of Tain. hough empty nowadays,
this was a heartland of eighth-century Picts before Viking raids became too much.
Tarbat Discovery Centre
Tarbatness Rd • April Mon-Sat 2-5pm; May Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; June-Sept Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 2-5pm; Oct daily 2-5pm •
£3.50 •
T
01862 871351,
W
tarbat-discovery.co.uk
Archeological digs in the church at the edge of the village have unearthed sculpted artefacts,
including some fine gravestones decorated with Celtic animals or mythical beasts, all well
presented in the church as the
Tarbat Discovery Centre
. It marks the first stop on a trail of
other Pictish sites south on the peninsula - pick up the Highlands Pictish Trail leaflet to
locate other impressive Pictish standing stones, including those
at
Hilton
and
Shandwick
.
