Eathie coast, near Rosemarkie

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Summary

This is a short walk providing historical, geological and wildlife interest. In good weather the mid point of the walk is a great place to picnic and gaze over the clear water in search of dolphins. In bad weather the bothy, now a small interpretative centre about the salmon station and Hugh Miller, provides good shelter.

Grade (key)

Bog Factor (key)

3.5/5

Rating

Terrain

Easy to follow and well-maintained path to the shore with some steep sections. The coastal section is through long grass - or at low tide the route can be followed on the pebbly shore; this is much rougher going.

Public Transport

None to start.

Start

Small car park with information board on the right side of the minor Black Isle coast road from Rosemarkie to Cromarty. Open in Google Maps.

Walk Statistics

Distance: 4.5km / 2.75 miles
Time: 1 - 2 hours
Ascent: 190m (Profile)
Start Grid Ref: NH769635

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Accommodation

Walk Description

User reports (3)

Stage 1

Start at the small car park with the information board. From here follow the track through the gate and towards the crest of the hill. The fertile farmland of the Black Isle falls away to your left and impressive beech trees grow to the right. After a short while the path passes a small lochan and then begins to descend through pine woods towards the shore.

Stage 2

The descent is on a good path with wide zig zags. Eventually the path brings you out at the shore. Immediately in front is the remains of a salmon netting station that was used until the mid-1980's. This type of fishing involved the use of yairs or large nets strung out into the sea with stakes in a crescent shape which trapped the fish at low tide. The bothy would have been the seasonal home to the four man team which fished the station from February to the end of August each year.

Stage 3

Go to the front of this concrete building and walk a short distance to the right along the shore and you will reach an older bothy which now houses interpretative boards about the salmon fishing station and about Hugh Miller, the Cromarty-born writer and naturalist. The return to Eathie is back the way you came; you can extend the walk by continuing along the coast, either southwards which eventually leads to Rosemarkie (low tide only) or north, where you can cross the Eathie burn and continue to an isolated sea-rock, but the track marked on the OS maps indicating a path leading up to Navity here is unfortunately fictional and return must be made the same way.

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