Hill of Fearn
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  Hill of Fearn Location within the Ross and Cromarty area | |
| OS grid reference | NH832778 |
| Council area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Tain |
| Postcode district | IV20 1 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
Hill of Fearn (Scottish Gaelic : Baile an Droma) is a small village near Tain in Easter Ross, in the Scottish council area of Highland. [1]
The village is on the B9165 road, between the A9 trunk road and the smaller hamlet of Fearn to the southeast. The parish church of Fearn Abbey stands a few minutes walk to the south-east of the village. Coincidentally, one of its Abbots, Abbot Finlay McFaed (d.1485) almost shares his unusual surname with the present renovator and owner of Balnagown Castle (Seat of the Clan Ross, 10 minutes drive to the southwest) - Mohamed Al Fayed.
The former RNAS Fearn (HMS Owl) is to the south of the village.
Hill of Fearn has a post office which doubles as the village shop and butchers, a primary school and a bus stop. Fearn railway station, located on the Far North Line, is around 1.3 miles (2.1 km) from the village.
The "N" on the sign into the village is often removed, giving the village the more sinister title of "Hill of Fear" - despite the best efforts of Highland Council to replace the N, or the entire sign itself, on a number of occasions.
Care should be taken to distinguish between the village of Hill of Fearn and the parish of Fearn; the latter also contains the villages of Hilton and Balintore, 2 miles (3 km) distant from Hill of Fearn, as well as the hamlet of Fearn, 1⁄4 mile (400 m) away from Hill of Fearn. The name Fearn, according to Watson's "Place Names of Ross & Cromarty", derives from the Scottish Gaelic Feàrna (an alder tree).
Hill of Fearn was the birthplace (28 August 1884) of New Zealand Prime Minister Peter Fraser (1 April 1940 to 13 December 1949). Tarbat Discovery Centre, located 7 miles (11 km) away in Portmahomack, has an archive relating to Peter Fraser (not on display, but may be consulted on request).
Hill of Fearn was also the birthplace (14 May 1948) of churchman John MacLeod.
The author Eric Linklater (1899–1974), when he was owner of nearby Pitcalzean House, Nigg in the 1940s and 1950s bought his clothes from the village tailor, Norman Smart.
Tain is a royal burgh and parish in the County of Ross, in the Highlands of Scotland.
Ross and Cromarty, also 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. One of the provinces of Scotland from the 9th century, it gave its name to a later earldom and to the counties of Ross-shire and, later, Ross and Cromarty. 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 Kirk, with the Presbytery of Ross being part of the Synod of Ross, Sutherland and Caithness.
Portmahomack is a small fishing village in Easter Ross, Scotland. It is situated in the Tarbat Peninsula in the parish of Tarbat. Tarbat Ness Lighthouse is about three miles from the village at the end of the Tarbat Peninsula. Ballone Castle lies about one mile from the village.
The Far North Line is a rural railway line entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, extending from Inverness to Thurso and Wick. As the name suggests, it is the northernmost railway in the United Kingdom. The line is entirely single-track, with only passing loops at some intermediate stations allowing trains to pass each other. In common with other railway lines in the Highlands and northern Lowlands, it is not electrified and all trains are diesel-powered.
Easter Ross is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland.
Balintore is a village near Tain in Easter Ross, Scotland. It is one of three villages on this northern stretch of the Moray Firth coastline: Hilton, Balintore, and Shandwick are known collectively as the Seaboard Villages.
Evanton is a small village in Easter Ross, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It lies between the River Sgitheach and the Allt Graad, is 24 kilometres (15 mi) north of Inverness, some 6.5 km (4.0 mi) south-west of Alness, and 10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of Dingwall.
Kildary is a small village in Easter Ross, Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland.
Beauly railway station is a railway station in the village of Beauly, in the Highland council area of Scotland. Located on the Far North Line, it is 10 miles 12 chains (16.3 km) down the line from Inverness, and it is the first intermediate station on the line, before reaching Muir of Ord. ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services.
Invergordon railway station is a railway station serving the town of Invergordon on the Cromarty Firth, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line, 31 miles 37 chains (50.6 km) from Inverness, between Alness and Fearn. ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services.
Fearn railway station is a railway station serving the village of Hill of Fearn in the Highland council area of Scotland, located around 1.3 miles (2.1 km) from the village. It is situated on the Far North Line, 40 miles 60 chains (65.6 km) form Inverness, between Tain and Invergordon, and is also the nearest station to Balintore, Hilton and Shandwick, Portmahomack and the Nigg Bay area of Easter Ross. ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services.
Fearn Abbey – known as "The Lamp of the North" – has its origins in one of Scotland's oldest pre-Reformation church buildings. Part of the Church of Scotland and located to the southeast of Tain, Ross-shire, the historic building ceased to be used for church services in 2023, with remaining local church services and meetings to be held in the adjacent modern church hall. In 2024 the parish, was united with the former parishes of Tarbat (Portmahomack) and Tain to form Easter Ross Peninsula Church of Scotland.
Tarbat is a civil parish in Highland, Scotland, in the north-east corner of Ross and Cromarty.
Arboll is a place in the parish of Tarbat, Easter Ross, Highland, northern Scotland made up of several scattered farms. It is situated about 10 km (6.2 mi) to the east of Tain and a short distance inland from Dornoch Firth.
Rockfield is a hamlet in the parish of Tarbat, on the Tarbat Peninsula, near the village of Portmahomack, Easter Ross, Highland, Scotland. There is a small stone jetty and the traditional way of life included fishing and agriculture. Rockfield is generally east-facing, below the level of a raised beach.
The Inverness and Ross-shire Railway was a Scottish railway company formed in 1860 to build a line from Inverness to Invergordon. It opened in 1862 as far as Dingwall and in 1863 to Invergordon. It was extended to a Bonar Bridge station in 1864. It provided the basis for later extensions that eventually reached Thurso, forming the Far North Line. The Dingwall and Skye Railway branched off at Dingwall to reach the Kyle of Lochalsh.
Toulvaddie is a hamlet, in the Tarbat peninsula, located in Tain, Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland.
Fearn is a hamlet, situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Loch Eye and 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of Balintore, in eastern Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. The buildings in the hamlet are mostly cottages with walls constructed of boulders and clay.
Logie Easter is a civil parish in Easter Ross in the Highland area of Scotland. It is bordered by the parishes of Edderton and Tain in the north and Fearn and Nigg in the east. The Balnagown River on the south forms the border with Kilmuir Easter. It extends about 7.5 miles from east to west.
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