A couple of weeks ago we had a nice day out on the Black Isle with friends from Yorkshire. It is easy to get to from Caravan 109 and takes no more than half an hout to get over the Kessock Bridge and onto the Black Isle.
The weather was great with some warm Autumn sunshine. We stopped off first at Chanonry Point which is the premier place in the UK for watching Bottle Nosed Dolphins. Apparently there are about 130 of them resident in the Moray Firth. Typical - not a dolphin in sight but a very nice walk on the beach towards Rosemarkie along the side of the golf course.
We then headed to the top of the Black Isle and had a fantastic lunch in Cromarty at the Pantry. No trip to Cromarty is complete without a visit here. They make the best sandwiches around and use what is called a Cromarty 'bloomer' - a huge soft loaf of bread which is very moorish.
After a wander around Cromarty and a look at the Nigg Ferry (still only taked 2 cars at a time!!) we wandered back around the Cromarty Firth side of the Black Isle looking out towards Invergodon. This is where they repair all the North Sea oil rigs and there were 4 in dock as we looked across. They look gigantic!
There was plenty of wildlife on the water as well. There were about 50 Scaup not far offshore as well as hundreds of Wigeon. Further on at Udale Bay, we sat in the hide and watched a fantastic array of ducks and waders. There were Brent Geese, Shelduck, Teal, Bar Tailed Godwit, one Whimbrel, Knot, and probably most exciting, a Manx Shearwater. With the sun starting to set everything had a wonderful orange hue. Another great day out.
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