Chanonry Point

Chanonry Point is the spit of shingle and turf that runs out from the Black Isle between Fortrose and Rosemarkie towards Fort George on the opposite shore, and it is the narrowing of the Moray Firth here that makes it what it is. The tidal current through the gap is strong, the firth’s bottlenose dolphins hunt in it, and the point is the best-known place in Britain to watch them from land. The Moray Firth is a Special Area of Conservation with the dolphins as a primary reason for its selection; the JNCC citation puts the resident population at around 130 animals, present all year and favouring particular stretches of the firth, of which this is one.

The lighthouse on the point was built for the Northern Lighthouse Board by Alan Stevenson and first lit in 1846, a white tower 13 metres high showing an occulting white light every six seconds; it was automated in 1984 and its grounds are private. A stone near it commemorates Coinneach Odhar, the Brahan Seer, who by tradition was put to death here. The point also carries the Fortrose and Rosemarkie golf course, whose road is the only way in by car.

The timing is the whole point. The dolphins follow the food, salmon above all, and come closest to the shore on a rising tide, with the biggest tides of the month, the springs, giving the strongest current and the best odds; a visit that lands on the ebb or at slack water can mean an hour of watching an empty firth. Parking at the point is limited and the recommended approach is on foot along the shore from Rosemarkie; there are no toilets at the point. It suits anyone who will read a tide table first and then stand still for an hour in whatever the weather does, and a family with binoculars and patience. It does not suit a visit fitted around the day’s other plans rather than the tide, or anyone who needs a guaranteed sighting, because there is none. For a walk with the same firth underfoot, Fyrish Monument on the far shore of the Cromarty Firth climbs to its view instead of waiting for it.