🦌 Wildlife
Chanonry Point
📍 Black Isle
⏱ 1–3 hours
🆓 Free entry
🚐 Motorhome friendly
Chanonry Point on the Black Isle is one of the finest places in Europe to watch bottlenose dolphins from the shore. The headland juts into the Moray Firth at a narrow channel where the tidal currents concentrate fish — particularly salmon — drawing the dolphins close to the beach on the incoming tide. The resident population of around 200 bottlenose dolphins is the northernmost in the world and the largest in the UK. On a good day you can watch them leaping and surfing the bow waves of passing ships from just a few metres away. The lighthouse at the point, built in 1846 by Alan Stevenson, is a handsome landmark, and the grave of the Brahan Seer — a 17th-century seer executed for his prophecies — is said to be nearby.
Drive to Fortrose on the Black Isle via the A832 from the A9. Follow the minor road to Chanonry Point (1 mile south of Fortrose).