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I’m staying at Rosemarkie on the Black Isle next week and I’m looking for ideas for routes of 30-60 miles.
There are suggestions here, but extra info would be appreciated: https://blackislebicycles.co.uk/home_and_about_us/routes_and_guides/
Cafe recommendations very welcome too!
Thanks for any tips.
Went about 5 years ago.
Went here - http://www.sutorcreek.co.uk (though not sure if was called that then.)
Traffic on 'main road' was a bit fast at times.
Didn't spot any dolphins.
Worth a visit - http://www.nts.org.uk/Property/Hugh-Millers-Birthplace-Cottage-and-Museum
You need to be at Channonry Point on the turn of the tide to get the dolphin action.
I went some time ago but my strategy was just to get an OS map and wander.
It is definitely worth going to see the dolphins. You might see kites in parts. We also saw ospreys fishing on the Cromarty Firth (near the long road bridge).
Cromarty is pretty. And you can get the Nigg ferry for extra adventure. There's nice cycling up the hills north of the Cromarty Firth.
You may not see kites - here's why.
Kites much less numerous this year than previous years, but it would be odd to see none if you're near the Tore roundabout.
Chanonry point (go at lowish tide and wait for dolphins to come in closer and closer...) and Cromarty both musts. Avoch good for wildlife too.
Thanks very much for the suggestions, folks. All sound good!
But I’m sad to hear kite numbers are down. Any idea why? Any connection with the Inglorious 12th?
We've been a couple of times. There's a cafe in a second-hand bookshop in Cromarty - you literally sit among the book-shelves - which we liked. The Cromarty ferry we thought a bit small, to the extent that we all got out the car in case it sank. There's a creepy "clootie well" though I forget where - best to just come across it perhaps, in thick mist. We drove up Strathglass/Glen Affric; that would have been amazing on a bike.
@c30c60
Kites, like any predator, tend to have cyclical population trends. They're mainly carrion eaters though, so more stable than many others.
Driven bird shooting estates are not a habitat on which anything with a hooked beak flourishes.
Good number of kites at loch Ken in Dumfries and Galloway. There is a centre from which you can observe them nearby and when sunny and someone goes water skiing you might think you were on the French Riviera.
Big wings but wee claws so only really ear a mouse or carrion your Kite. Majestic bird.
As an aside, the Raptor Persecution site linked from IWRATS's post leads to a couple of petitions:
Ban driven grouse shooting - https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/125003 (closes 20 Sep)
State regulated licensing system for gamebird hunting in Scotland - http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01615 (closes 22 Aug)
If you get the ferry over to Nigg, it might be nice to cycle up to the Hilton of Cadboll Stone. The actual one is in the museum of Scotland, but the replica's very nice. The roads from Nigg to Hilton are small, quiet ones.
Thanks for all the tips. Cycling and weather both delightful. No dolphins, but did see a kite buzzing the cathedral in Fortrose, and a porpoise making the fish jump when we nipped over to the Summer Isles. The little brother of Sutor Creek cafe was excellent: http://www.sutorcreek.co.uk/coupers-creek.asp Also the Rosemarkie museum of Pictish carvings. And absolutely no midges!
Too windy for midges?
Rosemarkie was totally midge-free, even on very still evenings. It's almost enough to shift my loyalty from the west coast.
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