This tiny town in the Scottish Highlands was named among the “20 coolest, prettiest and quirkiest seaside towns in the UK” and it is easy to see why
A beautiful remote fishing village has been named among the “prettiest in the UK”. The little town of Cromarty in the Scottish Highlands was named among the “20 coolest, prettiest and quirkiest seaside towns in the UK” in a recent Time Out list. With a fairytale charm the tiny, old-time settlement has fairy tale charm and is surrounded by beautiful nature including sparkling waterfalls and magical wells as well as gorgeous beaches.
Situated on the tip of the Black Isle peninsula, Cromarty sits on a spit of land jutting out into the Cromarty Firth with quaint cottages looking out over a long sweep of beach. One of the UK’s most northerly towns, Cormarty sits to the North of Inverness and has a long association with the sea. The town of 700 or so inhabitants also once boasted an industry of ropemaking and iron working. Travel website Undiscovered Scotland said of the charming area: “Cromarty itself is an extremely attractive town, a mix of smaller cottages and more substantial buildings designed to house both the workers who fed its prosperity and those whose fortunes were made here.”
Outside the town adventurous walkers can find their way to waterfalls with names like Fairy Glen and mysterious Clootie Wells, where people hang up rags as part of an ancient Celtic tradition. Meanwhile in the town itself attractions include eighteenth-century fisherman’s cottages and East Church, with its clear-glazed windows. Cromarty, which is generally regarded as the best preserved example of an 18th century town in Scotland, also hosts Hugh Miller’s Cottage, a quaint thatched museum dedicated to a local geologist.
Originally a stonemason Miller went on to become one of the fathers of modern Geology following a fascination with fossils. The house is a museum that is preserved to be as close to the state that Hugh would have known during his life.
As well as the graveyard at East Church visitors can also take a walk out of town and discover the so-called Pirate’s Graveyard. The real name for the burial place is St Regulus’ Graveyard, but it was given its swashbuckling name as almost all the gravestones bear skulls and crossbones on them.
Other highlights include the tiny car ferry to Nigg which takes foot passengers too or the boat tours that leave from the harbour to spot the world’s most northerly pod of bottlenose dolphins.