- Black Isle
The Black Isle (Scottish Gaelic "an t-Eilean Dubh," pronounced|ən̴̪ tʲelan d̪̊uh) is an eastern area of the Highland local government council area of
Scotland , within the county ofRoss and Cromarty . The name nearly always includes the article "the".It includes the town of
Cromarty , and such villages asConon Bridge ,Muir of Ord ,Munlochy ,Avoch ,Rosemarkie ,Fortrose , Tore, andCulbokie .Description
Despite its name, the Black Isle is not an island, but a
peninsula (Gaelic uses the same word, "eilean", for both island and peninsula), surrounded on three sides by water – theCromarty Firth to the north, theBeauly Firth to the south, and theMoray Firth to the east. On its fourth, western side, its boundary is delineated by rivers. TheRiver Conon dividesMaryburgh , a mile outsideDingwall , fromConon Bridge which is the first village on the Black Isle from the north-western side. Its southwestern boundary is variously considered to be marked by either a minor tributary of theRiver Beauly separatingBeauly (inInverness-shire ) andMuir of Ord (on the Black Isle in Ross and Cromarty), dividing the 2 counties and also delineating the start of the Black Isle; or alternatively, the River Beauly itself, thus including Beauly in the Black Isle despite its official placement in Inverness-shire. [ [http://www.black-isle.info/areainfo.html Black Isle Info ] ]The Black Isle was one of the earliest parts of the northern Highlands to experience agricultural improvements,Clarifyme|date=March 2008 and was settled with many Lowland shepherds and farmers, especially from the north east.
The Black Isle was the site of a community protest against Genetically modified agriculture. [ [http://www.munlochygmvigil.org.uk Munlochy GM Vigil ] ]
Bottlenose Dolphin s are found in theMoray Firth .Castles
Castles on the Black Isle include
Castle Chanonry of Ross , and Castlecraig. It also includes the former site ofOrmond Castle .Cromarty House stands on the site of former Cromarty Castle and is built in part from its reclaimed stone and timbers.Economy
Economic activities on the Black Isle include agriculture, tourism and forestry; it features a whisky distillery, Glen Ord (Diageo). The area also acts as a dormitory for
Inverness .Black Isle Brewery
Black Isle Brewery Ltd. is a small brewery near the village of
Munlochy . The brewery makes a variety of beers including Yellowhammer, Red Kite Ale, Porter and Scotch Ale, along with awheat beer and ablonde ale ; all of their beers are organic. [ [http://www.blackislebrewery.com/ Black Isle Brewery: Save the Planet - Drink Organic ] ]The Black Isle Show
The Black Isle Show takes place at
Muir of Ord on the first Thursday in August every year.Glen Ord Distillery
Glen Ord Distillery [ [http://www.whisky.com/distilleries/glen_ord_distillery.html Glen Ord Distillery] ] , situated at Muir of Ord, is the only remaining single malt Scotch whisky distillery on the Black Isle.
ee also
*
Easter Ross
*Wester Ross
*Ross-shire
*Cromartyshire
*Ross and Cromarty References
External links
* [http://www.blackisle.org/index.htm Black Isle Partnership website]
* [http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/dialects/nis.html Listen to recordings of a speaker of Scots from the Black Isle]
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