Scotland Guide
The Highlands
Cromarty
The colossal oil rigs marooned in the estuary off Nigg and Invergordon look like metal monsters marching out to sea. They form a surreal counterpoint to the web of tiny streets and charming workers' cottages of CROMARTY, an ancient ferry-crossing point on the pilgrimage trail to St Duthus's shrine in Tain. Cromarty became a prominent port in 1772 when an entrepreneurial local landlord, George Ross, founded a hemp mill here, fuelling a period of prosperity during which Cromarty acquired some of Scotland's finest Georgian houses: these, together with the terraced fishers' cottages of the nineteenth-century herring boom, have left the town with a wonderfully well-preserved concentration of Scottish domestic architecture.
To get a sense of Cromarty's past, wander through the town's pretty streets to the museum housed in the old Courthouse on Church Street (daily: April– Oct 10am–5pm; £5), which tells the history of the town using audiovisuals and animated figures. Dolphin- and other wildlife-spotting trips are offered locally by Ecoventures ( 
01381/600323, 
www.ecoventures.co.uk ; £20; 2hr), who blast out through the Soutars to the Moray Firth in a powerful RIB. The tiny two-car Nigg– Cromarty ferry (June– Sept daily 8am–6.15pm; until 7.15pm July-Aug; £2.50) is Scotland's smallest. Embark from the jetty near the lighthouse.
For B&B, try the modest but friendly traditional abode in the Little Vennel area, run by Mrs Watson ( 01381/600430; Price: ₤41-50) or Gisborne B&B ( 01381/600376, Price: ₤51-60) on Marine Terrace, which was once the cottage hospital. For something toeat, there are few more down-to-earth restaurants in the Highlands than 
Sutor Creek at 21 Bank St ( 01381/600855, www.sutorcreek.co.uk ; Wed– Sun 11am– late). An intimate place, it serves organic wines, delicious seafood and fresh pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven – the imaginative toppings (and the daily blackboard specials) are local and seasonal rather than conventionally Italian. In the nearby Cromarty Bakery, you'll find tasty fresh breads such as spinach and walnut, and whisky cake.