The north and northwest Highlands - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 256

hike in the area is up Cnoc Mor hill, where the Iron Age hillfort of Knock Farril affords
superb panoramic views to the Cromarty Firth and surrounding mountains.
ARRIVAL AND ACTIVITIES STRATHPEFFER

By bus Stagecoach bus #27 from Inverness drops
passengers in the town square (Mon-Sat 12 daily, Sun
5 daily; 50min).

Bike rental The excellent Square Wheels ( T 01997 421000,
W squarewheels.biz; closed Mon) on the main square rents
out bikes and offers good advice on local trails.

ACCOMMODAT ION AND EATING
Craigvar The Square T 01997 421622, W craigvar.com.
Good breakfasts set you up for a day in the hills and a
relaxing atmosphere to settle into afterwards. As central
as it gets, this B&B provides modern decor that refers to the
early Victorian house (love the roll-t op b aths) yet includes
flatscreen TVs and wi-fi throughout. £90
Linnmhor House Park Road T 01997 420072,
W linnmhor-house.co.uk. Another relaxing and rather
luxurious stay, this B&B boasts the period features of
an Edwardian villa in en-suite rooms, all tastefully and

sympathetically furnished. Great brea kfasts and delicious
dinners for guests upon request. £100
Red Poppy Main St T 01997 423332. By spring 2014,
this casual, modern place should have shifted from the
exhibition hall to new premises opposite the Pump Room.
The bistro menu - Cullen skink and pastas, burgers
and beef Stroganoff priced around £6-12 - is expected
to remain the same. Tues-Sat 11am-8.30pm, Sun
noon-3.30pm.

The Dornoch Firth and around
For centuries, visitors on the pilgrim trail to the Fearn peninsula came from the south
by ferry from Cromarty. Nowadays the area north of Dornoch Firth is linked by the A9,
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.

4

Tain
There'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 medieval 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. There's also
a dressing-up box if you have kiddies to entertain. The ticket price also includes an
audio walking tour of the town; set aside twenty minutes. The same ticket gets you into
a neighbouring museum with 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, vanilla-y malt. There's a dram or two to finish, naturally.