After our first Scottish breakfast of scrambled eggs and courgette fritters at our lovely b&b in Inverness we headed off at 9 to Fortrose on the Black Isle. We have travelled 715 miles so far btw to get to this point.

We parked up at the Fortrose Cathedral ruin and had a bracing walk to Chanonry Point, where if the timing is right is one of the best places in Europe to see dolphins from land. Unfortunately after half an hour or so it was clear the timing was off and we headed back.

Grabbing a chicken turnover and a chicken curry pie from the local bakery for later we continued to Fairy Glen Falls where it was a pleasant 2 mile round walk to the falls, fairly small but pretty nevertheless (we didn’t see any fairies if you were wondering). On walking back to the car, we realized we were really close to the shore so we found a bench on Rosemarkie Beach and ate our lunch. 

After a quick stop at The Black Isle Brewery where we stocked up on some of the beer that we drank last night, it was onto Rogie Falls. By now the sun was blazing and when we reached the waterfall and swing bridge it felt that we really could have been back in New Zealand – it was a stunning setting.

With a final stop planned to see the Mermaid of the North (a mermaid statue on a rock on the beach in Balintore) we did make a little detour to see The Shadwick Stone which is now so fragile it is housed in a massive protective glass box.

We checked into The Shadwick Inn just before 6 and found we were staying in a tiny little cottage in the car park! Luckily it did look slightly better on the inside. We had dinner in the Inn and after checking details for tomorrow, I was ready for bed to catch up on some sleep!