Black Isle

The Black Isle (Scottish Gaelic: an t-Eilean Dubh, pronounced [ən̪ˠtʲelan d̪̊uh]) is a peninsula within Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish Highlands.

It includes the town of Cromarty, and such villages as Conon Bridge, Muir of Ord, Munlochy, Avoch, Rosemarkie, Fortrose, Tore, North Kessock, and Culbokie.

Description

Despite its name, the Black Isle is not an island, but a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by water – the Cromarty Firth to the north, the Beauly Firth to the south, and the Moray Firth to the east. On its fourth, western side, its boundary is delineated by rivers. The River Conon divides Maryburgh, a mile outside Dingwall, from Conon Bridge which is the first village on the Black Isle from the north-western side. Its southwestern boundary is variously considered to be marked by either a minor tributary of the River Beauly separating Beauly (in Inverness-shire) and Muir of Ord (on the Black Isle in Ross and Cromarty), dividing the two counties and also delineating the start of the Black Isle; or alternatively, the River Beauly itself, thus including Beauly in the Black Isle despite its official placement in Inverness-shire.