The Moray Firth is a roughly triangular inlet of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotland. It is the largest firth in Scotland, stretching from Duncansby Head in the north, in the Highland council area, and Fraserburgh in the east, in the Aberdeenshire council area, to Inverness and the Beauly Firth in the west. Therefore, three council areas have Moray Firth coastline: Highland to the west and north of the Moray Firth and Highland, Moray and Aberdeenshire to the south. The firth has more than 800 kilometres of coastline, much of which is cliff.
The A9 is a major road running from the Falkirk council area in central Scotland to Scrabster Harbour, Thurso in the far north, via Stirling, Bridge of Allan, Perth and Inverness. At 273 miles (439 km), it is the longest road in Scotland and the fifth-longest A-road in the United Kingdom. Historically it was the main road between Edinburgh and John o' Groats, and has been called the spine of Scotland. It is one of the three major north-south trunk routes linking the Central Belt to the Highlands - the others being the A82 and the A90.
Ross and Cromarty, sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the latter of which is 8,019 square kilometres in extent. Historically there has also been a constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, a local government county, a district of the Highland local government region and a management area of the Highland Council. The local government county is now divided between two local government areas: the Highland area and Na h-Eileanan Siar. Ross and Cromarty border Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south.
Ross is a region of Scotland, a former earldom and, under the name Ross-shire and, later, Ross and Cromarty, a county. The name Ross allegedly derives from a Gaelic word meaning "headland", perhaps a reference to the Black Isle. Another possible origin is the West Norse word for Orkney – Hrossey – meaning horse island; the area once belonged to the Norwegian earldom of Orkney. Ross is a historical comital region, perhaps predating the Mormaerdom of Ross. It is also a region used by the Church, with the Presbytery of Ross being part of the Synod of Ross, Sutherland and Caithness.
The Great Glen, also known as Glen Albyn or Glen More, is a glen in Scotland running for 62 miles (100 km) from Inverness on the edge of Moray Firth, in an approximately straight line to Fort William at the head of Loch Linnhe. It follows a geological fault known as the Great Glen Fault, and bisects the Scottish Highlands into the Grampian Mountains to the southeast and the Northwest Highlands to the northwest.
The Kessock Bridge carries the A9 trunk road across the Beauly Firth at Inverness, Scotland.
The Black Isle is a peninsula within Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish Highlands. It includes the towns of Cromarty and Fortrose, and the villages of Culbokie, Jemimaville, Rosemarkie, Avoch, Munlochy, Tore, and North Kessock,as well as numerous smaller settlements. About 12,000 people live on the Black Isle, depending on the definition.
Bonar Bridge is a village on the north bank of the Kyle of Sutherland to the west and the Dornoch Firth to the east in the Parish of Creich in the Highland council area of Scotland.
The Beauly Firth is a firth in northern Scotland. It is the outlet for both the River Beauly and River Ness. The Beauly Firth is bounded at its western end by the town of Beauly and its eastern by Inverness, where it empties into the Moray Firth.
The River Beauly is a river in the Scottish Highlands, about 15 km west of the city of Inverness.
Ross-shire is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting of numerous enclaves or exclaves scattered throughout Ross-shire's territory. Ross-shire includes most of Ross along with Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Dingwall is the traditional county town. The area of Ross-shire is based on that of the historic province of Ross, but with the exclusion of the many enclaves that form Cromartyshire.
North Kessock is a village on the Black Isle north of Inverness.
Munlochy is a small village, lying at the head of Munlochy Bay, in the Black Isle in Ross and Cromarty, in northern Scotland.
Muir of Ord is a village in the Highlands of Scotland. It is situated near the western boundary of the Black Isle, about 9 miles (14 km) west of the city of Inverness and 5+1⁄2 miles (9 km) south of Dingwall. The village has a population of 2,690 and sits 35 metres (115 ft) above sea level. The Scottish geologist, Sir Roderick Murchison was born in the village in 1792.
The A835 is a road in the Scottish Highlands linking Inverness to Ullapool and the Far North of Scotland.
Arpafeelie is a hamlet on the Black Isle, in Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is situated 4 km north-west of the village of North Kessock, and 8 km north-west of the city of Inverness. The A9 road, the main road north from Inverness, passes by to the east of Arpafeelie.
The Fortrose Branch, also known as the Black Isle Railway, was a railway branch line serving Fortrose in the Black Isle, in the north of Scotland. It was built by the Highland Railway as a tactical measure to exclude a rival railway company and to move the locals from Fortrose onwards to other destinations.
Allangrange Mains is a farm in Munlochy, Ross-shire, and is a few miles north of the Beauly Firth, and is within the council of Highland, Scotland.
Clunes is a small hamlet, located on the west shore of Loch Lochy, less than 0.5 miles northeast of Bunarkaig in Inverness-shire, Scottish Highlands and is in the Highland council area of Scotland.
Culburnie is a scattered hamlet near in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is 1.2 miles (2 km) west of Kiltarlity, and 12.4 miles (20 km) west of Inverness.
