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 It was withdrawn on the opening of the Kessock Bridge in 1982.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 It was withdrawn on the opening of the Kessock Bridge in 1982.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 English and Scots languages used to denote various coastal waters in the United Kingdom, predominantly within Scotland. In the Northern Isles, it more often refers to a smaller inlet. It is linguistically cognate to Scandinavian fjord and fjard, with the original meaning of "sailable waterway". The word has a more constrained sense in English. Bodies of water named "firths" tend to be more common on the Scottish east coast, or in the southwest of the country, although the Firth of Clyde 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 has land borders with the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Moray and Perth and Kinross. The wider upland area of the Scottish Highlands after which the council area is named extends beyond the Highland council area into all the neighbouring council areas plus Angus and Stirling.
Cromarty is a town, civil parish and former royal burgh in Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland area of Scotland. Situated at the tip of the Black Isle on the southern shore of the mouth of Cromarty Firth, it is 5 miles (8 km) seaward from Invergordon on the opposite coast. In the 2001 census, it had a population of 719.
The Cromarty Firth is an arm of the Moray Firth in Scotland.
The A9 is a major road in Scotland 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, is an area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In modern usage, it is a registration county and a lieutenancy area. Between 1889 and 1975 it was a county.
Ross is an area of Scotland. It was first recorded in the tenth century as a province. It was claimed by the Scottish crown in 1098, and from the 12th century Ross was an earldom. From 1661 there was a county of Ross, also known as Ross-shire, covering most but not all of the province, in particular excluding Cromartyshire. Cromartyshire was subsequently merged with the county of Ross in 1889 to form the county of Ross and Cromarty. The area is now part of the Highland council area.
Loch Leven is a sea loch located onto the west coast of Scotland. It is spelled Loch Lyon in Timothy Pont's map of the area and is pronounced Li' un. However, the local Gaelic pronunciation is Lee' oon
The Kessock Bridge carries the A9 trunk road across the Beauly Firth at Inverness, Scotland.
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. Like other railway lines in the Highlands and northern Lowlands, it is not electrified and all trains are diesel-powered.
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, Resolis, 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.
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.
South Kessock is an area of the city of Inverness in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is situated to the city's north at the mouth of the River Ness. It is a traditionally working-class area.
The River Beauly is a river in the Scottish Highlands, about 15 km west of the city of Inverness.
Ross-shire, or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered 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. The mainland had a coast to the east onto the Moray Firth and a coast to the west onto the Minch. Ross-shire was named after and covered most of the ancient province of Ross, and also included the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The county town was Dingwall.
North Kessock is a village on the Black Isle north of Inverness.
The A835 is a road in the Scottish Highlands linking Inverness to Ullapool and the Far North of Scotland.
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.
The Corran Ferry crosses Loch Linnhe at the Corran Narrows, south of Fort William, Scotland.
Kessock Lifeboat Station is located directly under the A9 Kessock Bridge, on the north shore of Beauly Firth at Craigton Point, North Kessock, 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Inverness, in the Highland region of Scotland.