Summer 2022: exploring Cromarty 3
On one of our mornings in Cromarty we took a boat trip with EcoVentures hoping to spot dolphins – successfully, as it turned out, but there were other things to enjoy too. Cromarty from the water, for example, including landmarks we had already explored on foot such as the lighthouse and Hugh Miller’s statue (just visible at the top of the first image below).
Life on board was chilly, but hot chocolate was provided.
We got up close and personal with the oil rigs and windfarm construction mentioned in my first post about Cromarty. The large buoy is a memorial on the spot where HMS Natal was wrecked and overturned by an internal explosion on the 30th December 1915.
We admired other boats.
And spotted a few birds, mainly cormorants and shags, but the main reason for the trip kept itself for the way back when a pair of dolphins started playing around the boat. Wow! That was a highlight.
So now I really must wrap up Cromarty with the other things that caught my eye. I’ll start seriously, and get sillier as I go on. First, the War Memorial – I wonder how closely related all those Watsons were? Below that is the Emigration Stone, which I now realise I should have included in my last Cromarty post in the section about Hugh Miller, who was a writer as well as a geologist. Erected in 2002 on Miller’s birthday, it is a tribute to the thousands of emigrants who departed Cromarty for the New World during the Highland clearances in the 1830s. The central inscription is taken from Hugh Miller’s report in the Inverness Courier of the sailing of the Cleopatra in June 1831, with the names of 39 other ships inscribed around the edge.
Some quirky art moments next. The two mosaic panels are part of Knotworks and Networks – A Celtic Tree Alphabet Mosaic Trail, of which we saw several others on the Black Isle. These represent F for Fearn (Celtic for alder) and L for Luis (rowan).
These three beauties are, I think, guiding the way to Cromarty House.
Who doesn’t love a good bench? I think the folk at Calluna (a dress shop) need to reconsider their use of apostrophes (or lack thereof).
And finally, the plain daft. Do you ever choose a bottle of wine just for its label? And the card in the gift shop window is not unrelated!
I might be finished with Cromarty, but there is more to come on the rest of the Black Isle. All in good time!
The Glasgow Gallivanter 
Its must have been amazing to see the dolphin
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Yes, it was!
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Regarding apostrophes, in the Anglosphere increasingly many governmental geographical naming authorities are ditching them. The United States officially writes Pikes Peak (named for Zebulon Pike), and “according to the NZ Parliamentary standards style guide, apart from a few exceptions (such as Arthur’s Pass and Hawke’s Bay), New Zealand place names do not have an apostrophe.” In addition to missing apostrophes, many people now insert them in places where they’re wrong, for instance “I baked three cake’s yesterday.”
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I find the latter example hard to fathom – just why? We call it the grocer’s apostrophe, not sure if that’s universal or just in British English. Grocers tend to sell a lot of apple’s and pear’s apparently.
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I blame it, at least in the United States, on the very low standards that prevail in our schools. They’re so low I can’t legitimately even call them standards.
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Wow! It must have been amazing to see the dolphins!
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It was wonderful!
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We’ve not made it to Cromarty yet – though we did fail to spot dolphins from Fort George. Another one for the list – lovely post, great photos.
Is there way of bottle of choosing wine, other than by its label? And price, of course…hard to get one for less than £2.50 these days.
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It is a beautiful bit of Britain – definitely recommend! If I ever come to your house, I’ll bring the wine 😉.
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The boat trip looked like fun – great that you saw the dolphins
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Thanks, it was!
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Loved that driveway gate, especially.
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It’s very decorative!
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