The Kessock Ferry used to ply between Inverness and the Black Isle, across the Beauly Firth. It was withdrawn on the opening of the Kessock Bridge in 1982.
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The Kessock Ferry used to ply between Inverness and the Black Isle, across the Beauly Firth. It was withdrawn on the opening of the Kessock Bridge in 1982.
The ferry crossed between North and South Kessock at the narrows between the Moray and Beauly Firths. This was the first of three firths north of Inverness, and the ferry provided a vital service for the local farming community wishing to sell their produce in Inverness. [1] Along with the Cromarty and Dornoch firths, the narrows at Kessock have been bridged by the A9. [2]
There is an early record of a ferry at Kessock in the 15th century. [3] Over the years sail, steam and diesel-powered ferries have crossed the narrows to provide a direct link between the Black Isle and Inverness, until the opening of the Kessock Bridge in 1982. [3]
The ferry was caught in a storm early in the evening of 23 February 1894, [4] leading to the death of three ferrymen and three coastguards who were attempting to rescue them. The tragedy was immortalised by the poet William McGonagall. [5]
The two steam boats Nellie and Maud formed the Kessock Ferry before, during and until just after the First World War. [6] They were named after relatives of Lord Burton of Dochfour, whose family owned the Kessock Estate and the ferry. In the winter, passengers were usually outnumbered by cattle, sheep and pigs on their way to market. [6]
The Eilean Dubh was the first purpose-built vehicle ferry on the route. [7] Built by James Lamont & Co of Port Glasgow, she was launched on 7 February 1951 [8] and was capable of carrying eight cars, with a small indoor passenger cabin. She was retained as relief vessel in 1967 and went on to do salvage and rig support work, [9] eventually being scrapped at Invergordon. [10]
The Inbhir Nis, a four-vehicle vessel, was added in the 1950s. [11]
The Rosehaugh was purchased in 1967, a much larger ferry boat, with ramps on all four corners. She was moved to the Corran Ferry after Kessock closed and is now a multipurpose cargo boat operated by MacDonald Ferries of Invergordon. Today she acts as tender for oil rigs in the Cromarty Firth. It has 30 by 8 m (98 by 26 ft) clear deck space and 10-long-ton (10-tonne) crane and winch facilities for handling oil rig anchor chain, and it is extremely manoeuvrable with twin Voith-Schneider propulsion units. [12]
Firth is a word in the Scots and English languages used to denote various coastal waters in Scotland and even a strait. In the Northern Isles, it more usually refers to a smaller inlet. It is linguistically cognate to fjord which has a more constrained sense in English. Bodies of water named "firths" tend to be more common on the east coast, or in the southwest of the country, although the Firth of Lorn is an exception to this. The Highland coast contains numerous estuaries, straits, and inlets of a similar kind, but not called "firth" ; instead, these are often called sea lochs. Before about 1850, the spelling "Frith" was more common.
Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It shares borders with the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Moray and Perth and Kinross. Their councils, and those of Angus and Stirling, also have areas of the Scottish Highlands within their administrative boundaries.
Cromartyshire is a historic county in the Highlands of Scotland, comprising the medieval "old shire" around the county town of Cromarty and 22 enclaves and exclaves transferred from Ross-shire in the late 17th century. The largest part, six times the size of the old shire, is Coigach, northwest from Ullapool. In 1890, Cromartyshire was merged with Ross-shire into the administrative county of Ross and Cromarty. In 1975, the resulting county was combined with Caithness, Inverness-shire, Nairnshire, Sutherland, and parts of Argyllshire and Morayshire to form the Highland council area.
The Cromarty Firth is an arm of the Moray Firth in Scotland.
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.
Sutherland is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire to the south and the Atlantic to the north and west. Like its southern neighbour Ross-shire, Sutherland has some of the most dramatic scenery in the whole of Europe, especially on its western fringe where the mountains meet the sea. These include high sea cliffs, and very old mountains composed of Precambrian and Cambrian rocks.
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 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.
Loch Leven is a sea loch located on the west coast of Scotland. It is spelled Loch Lyon in Timothy Pont's map of the area and is pronounced Li' un. The local Gaelic pronunciation is Lee' oon
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, North Kessock and Muir of Ord, as well as numerous smaller settlements. About 12,000 people live on the Black Isle, depending on the definition.
The Beauly Firth is a firth in northern Scotland. It is effectively a continuation of the Moray Firth westward, and is bounded at one end by Beauly and at the other by Inverness. The Kessock Ferry crossed at the eastern end since the 15th Century. Today, the A9 crosses on the Kessock Bridge.
Invergordon is a town and port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. It lies in the parish of Rosskeen.
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.
Nigg Bay is a large, relatively shallow sandy bay, consisting of mudflats, saltmarsh and wet grassland, located on the north east coast of the Cromarty Firth, 5 miles (8 km) east of Invergordon, in the district of Ross and Cromarty and in the Scottish council area of Highland. At low tide, the Sands of Nigg are exposed. Nigg Bay can be said to start at Balintraid pier – probably the oldest pier on the Cromarty Firth – built by Thomas Telford in 1821. There is a wartime mining base alongside the pier and a series of coastal gun emplacements on the road to North Sutor.
Nigg is a village and parish in Easter Ross, administered by The Highland Council. It lies on the north shore of the entrance to the Cromarty Firth.
The Shire of Inverness is a historic county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in population, with 67,733 people or 1.34% of the national population.
The Corran Ferry crosses Loch Linnhe at the Corran Narrows, south of Fort William, Scotland.