Responsible Tourism
Greetings from the Black Isle Tourism Team!
The Black Isle Tourism Team is a group of member businesses and individuals committed to managing tourism in our area for the benefit of all. It is a project of the Black Isle Partnership. To find out more click here.
The logo of the Black Isle Tourism Team is based on the rolling hills of the Black Isle - a contrast to the jaggedness of the high mountains of NW Scotland. The logo is a reflection of the coast north of Rosemarkie:
During the summer of 2020, we launched the Venture Safely Campaign (below) along with our parent organisation the Black Isle Partnership. The campaign was aimed to welcome and inform visitors about how they can help our communities as tourism opened up after the first wave of the pandemic. For 2021, we have launched the responsible visitor pledge, click here to view the pledge.
Venture Safely Campaign 2020/21
We are asking all visitors (along with local residents) to follow these simple guidelines:
Support Local Businesses. Respect Local Needs.
Stay Apart. Keep Connected.
Support Local Businesses. Please remember that the attractions of the Black Isle extend far beyond watching dolphins (free) at Chanonry Point. Many local businesses either closed or had trade severely curtailed as a result of ‘lockdown’. Some are entirely dependent on tourist custom and others rely on additional visitor spend to make their business viable. A lot of the shops sell items unique to the area and the Black Isle has long prided itself on great produce. Food and drink is of the highest quality, much of it of local provenance. While travelling and/or staying in the Black Isle please contribute to the local economy and enjoy purchasing something of what the area has to offer.
Respect Local Needs. Think of us as a family. We welcome you into our ‘home’ but you must understand that Grandma, or the kids, still have their routines. We will do all we can to accommodate you, but they still expect their dinner on the table. When buying provisions please only get what you need and leave enough for the rest of us. During lockdown local residents have come to rely on their local shop and the shopkeepers have worked tirelessly to keep the supply chain going. They don’t have huge storage areas and it is very easy for some stock to run out quite quickly. If they don’t have exactly what you were looking for, be creative and adapt. Also, when visiting the store please follow the social distancing guidance – everywhere might be slightly different. Some are operating a one-in-one-out policy, others can accommodate a few more at a time. So please read instructions carefully and understand that they’re there for a reason – and for all our benefit.
Stay Apart. Scottish guidance on ‘social distancing’ is different to other parts of the UK. Currently we like to keep two metres from others. Well, we might not like it, but that is what we’re advised, and it seems to work. And stay apart in other ways too. The Black Isle has many hidden gems to explore. If Rosemarkie beach is looking crowded, or the Cromarty streets are bustling with folk, take yourself off to somewhere more remote – and enjoy the peace and tranquillity that affords. Isn’t that the whole point of being here after all?
Keep Connected. The Black Isle communities are working hard to keep everyone informed of latest developments and up to date news. The good things as well as the serious stuff. While you’re with us follow the many community Facebook pages, or #BlackIsle on social media. Read the noticeboards in the village centres. Best of all keep www.black-isle.info in your favourites list. You never know, you might find out about something that you wouldn’t have known otherwise – and it could make your stay extra special.
When you’re with us you’re part of us!
Above all, whatever you do, do it SAFELY
The Black Isle Tourism Team has written a short article on the Black Isle.
The Black Isle is neither black nor an island, but a peninsula with an 80-mile coastline in a compact area.
It is a region of rich farmland and woodland with historic towns and villages and a coastline that demands to be walked for its beauty and its wildlife. Tourists are drawn to the Black Isle to observe bottle-nosed dolphins close up, but eventually they leave hoping to return, thanks to a sense of being part of a vibrant community with a strong culture and a fascinating history.
The Black Isle Tourism Team has identified the Black Isle as where you “Savour the Unexpected” and embrace the concept of slow tourism. Climatically the Black Isle is softer, drier and “midge free” compared to the west coast. It is certainly somewhere you need to stay awhile to fully appreciate all that it has to offer.
To be enjoyed are some fine restaurants and cafes, specialist food shops, a historic golf course, famous geological sites, views as far as the Cairngorms, and you are never far from the sea. The Black Isle has a summer ferry link across the mouth of the Cromarty Firth from Cromarty, a small town with historical connections and fine houses reflecting its wealth as a port in the 1800s.
The Black Isle has numerous minor roads that provide a network for cyclists and there are mountain bike trails too. The Black Isle is “bicycle sized”. The footpath network is extensive, especially in woodlands and plantations, and in the grounds of country estates. A popular walk is to head north of Rosemarkie on the beach, and if the tide permits you can pass the bluff at Scart Craig without getting your feet wet, while marvelling at the multi-coloured rocks by the shore.
The beach at Rosemarkie is popular with young families as is the gentle countryside of the Black Isle. Above all, the Black Isle is for people who understand, and have the time to accept, that the more you explore the richer is the experience. The Black Isle is not to be rushed.
A free tourism map packed full of useful information is available at many of the shops and eateries.
Discover The Black Isle from Julian Paren on Vimeo.