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Black Isle is not an island; a peninsular or promontory perhaps,
but promontories have cliffs? On its south side, the Moray Firth washes
in from the North Sea. Inward of this is the Beauly Firth, which is
classed as a sea loch and as its' name implies, it runs westwards as far as Beauly.
The two firths are split by the Kessock Bridge which carries the A9 road northwards from
Inverness. The Cromarty Firth runs along the north side of the Black Isle and runs from Conon Bridge to the sea beyond Cromarty. The land between Beauly and Conon Bridge forms the neck of the Black Isle. The A9 road crosses the Cromarty Firth at the Cromarty Bridge, a flat causeway. Parking area on the approach roads to the bridge offer good photographic opportunities with frequent views of the local seal population, both in and out of the water. The Cromarty Firth was used during both World Wars as a naval harbour and some of the gun emplacements still exist. The Firth is particularly remembered for the 400 or so people who were killed on Hogmanay 1915 when an explosion ripped through HMS Natal, a 13,500 ton armoured cruiser sinking her within 5 minutes. The bodies recovered are buried at cemeteries at Rosskeen and Cromarty churches. The top parts of the ship can still be seen off Invergordon at very low tides. A court martial was convened but no blame was attributed to any person. It is thought that the cause of the explosion was due to faulty cordite. Places of interest on the Black Isle include Cromarty itself where the geologist Hugh Miller lived. Fortrose with a former Cathedral and Rosemarkie which has a fairy glen with a footpath passing under the waterfall. Hugh Miller's is house is now owned by the National Trust. A car ferry, the King's Ferry (from James IV) runs seven days a week from Cromarty to Nigg in Easter Ross. The ferry, which can only carry two cars, runs every half hour and there are also Dolphin and Wildlife cruises each evening. The Black Isle? There are various suggestions as to its origin. From burning off the old stubble in the back end of the year, to the fact that while all around may be covered in snow, the Black Isle seems to resist it, or so they say. Another suggestion is that the name is a translation from the Gaelic Eilean Dubh, which perhaps is a shortening of Eilean Dubhtaich meaning St.Duthus Isle. St Duthus died in
1065. Last Update: 21, February, 2000
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