Key Places:
The Wild West Cycling Holiday

10 Day: Guided: Road Bike

The Black Isle

The rolling landscapes of the Black Isle peninsula make a distinct contrast to the craggy mountains of North West Scotland. The Black Isle was once covered in dense forest. The population of the area is around 12,000. This watery headland is surrounded by the Cromarty Firth to the north the Beauly Firth to the south and the Moray Firth to the east (famous for its resident pod of Bottlenose dolphins which can be most easily seen from Chanonry Point between Fortrose and Rosemarkie).

The Black Isle was one of the first areas of the highlands to experience the clearances. The area had its own dialect used mainly by the fishing communities this died along with its last native speaker Boggy Hogg in 2012.

The isle is home to 2 distinctive RSPB nature reserves Fairy Glen an enchanting habitat of woodland songbirds and wild flowers and Udale Bay where you’ll find migratory pink-footed geese.