Highland’s North Kessock pier in community buy-out bid

BBC – Residents of North Kessock in the Black Isle plan to buy their crumbling local pier. The pier was used by the Kessock ferry that linked the Black Isle with Inverness across the Beauly Firth before a road bridge was built. A community group has been set up to raise the funds needed to [...]

Scarlett Johansson film ‘to be shot in Highlands’

BBC – Scenes for a new film starring Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson could be shot in the Highlands, according to a newspaper report. Under the Skin is based on a novel of the same name by Michel Faber who lives in the Black Isle, near Inverness. The book tells of an alien, to be played [...]

Champion rally driver leaves £1.5m estate after fatal crash

STV – A rally champion who died during a race in Perthshire has left an estate worth £1.5m. Jimmy Girvan, 56, a double Scottish rally champion, was killed in the smash when his Subaru Impreza hit boulders and careered into trees on a track near Aberfeldy. The event at Pilcalnie Farm was in memory of [...]

‘Humpback’ whale seen in Moray Firth in the Highlands

BBC – A large whale, possibly a humpback, has been spotted in the Moray Firth in the Highlands. The sighting was made by Sea Watch Foundation regional co-ordinator Howard Loates off Chanonry Point, near Fortrose, from 0630 to 0830 BST. Mr Loates said a humpback was seen near Aberdeen on Thursday. Charlie Phillips, a Whale [...]

Black Isle Wildlife Park’s escaped wallaby recaptured

BBC – A wallaby has been returned to a park in the Highlands after it escaped and was captured two days later. The three-year-old called Joey sparked calls to the police from concerned motorists who saw the animal on roads close to the Black Isle Wildlife Park. Park staff managed to catch the wallaby in [...]

20 organised crime gangs smashed by Highland force

Herald – A SCOTTISH police force has broken up 20 organised crime gangs over the past two years. Northern Constabulary has targeted 25 known bands of criminals in the Highlands and islands since January 2009. More than £2 million worth of drugs have been recovered and 67 people arrested. Many have received substantial prison sentences. [...]

Two Fortrose pupils reported for alleged drugs misuse

BBC – Two boys at a Highlands secondary school have been referred to the Children’s Reporter in connection with alleged drugs misuse. Northern Constabulary said the two were pupils at Fortrose Academy, in Fortrose, in the Black Isle. A man from Fortrose was also arrested in connection with drug dealing offences.

Storm over taxis for Gaelic pupils

Press and Journal – A war of words has been sparked following a call for a review of the £260,000 a year it costs to provide free transport for youngsters to the Gaelic school in Inverness. The issue has become a “hot potato”, says Black Isle councillor Billy Barclay following complaints from Gaelic and non-Gaelic [...]

RSPB in appeal to farmers over kite poisoning

BBC – Farmers and land managers are being urged to stop using large quantities of rat poison in the summer in a bid to prevent red kite deaths. The call by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) came as it revealed 11 red kite chicks were poisoned by rodenticides last summer. The [...]

Black Isle set to ring with music for Mozart celebration

Press and Journal – The Highlands will be alive with the sound of classical music when a day dedicated to Mozart is held. About 80 people have already stepped forward to take part in a taster session dedicated to the 18th-century Salzburg composer on the Black Isle And organisers from Black Isle Messiah (BIM) are [...]

Objections lodged over bid to build block of flats in village

Press and Journal – More than 30 objections have been lodged over a plan to build six flats in a Black Isle village, and the local community council fears it will be a blot on the landscape. Developer Cairn Housing Association has applied to Highland Council for planning permission to construct six two-bedroom flats on [...]

New bus link is agreed for Black Isle

Ross-Shire Journal – A NEW public bus service linking Cromarty to Dingwall is set to take to the road this spring after a successful consultation with Black Isle locals. Around 45 residents gathered for a public meeting at the end of January to hear from Stagecoach about their proposals for a route which would take [...]

This road is still a danger

Inverness Courier – AN ambulance technician who was first on the scene of a fatal car crash fears there could be more deaths on the stretch of road unless action is taken to stop water seeping onto it. Glen Mason has warned that travelling on the B9161 Artafallie-Munlochy road, near Bogallan, on the Black Isle, [...]

Village hall to get 21st-century makeover

Press and Journal – A HISTORIC Black Isle hall, built in the late 1800s, is to have 21st-century improvements, after being awarded more than £72,500 in funding. Munlochy Hall hopes to instal a new bio-mass boiler and low-energy lighting in an attempt to reduce the premises’ carbon emissions and heating costs. The management committee has [...]

High demand for water eases off

BBC – Scottish Water has said an unusually high demand for water in Easter Ross had dropped slightly following its concerns over burst pipes. On Monday, it said parts of the Highlands were found using 20 million more litres a day more than was normal. Easter Ross, Drumnadrochit and the Black Isle were said to [...]

Leaks blamed in major water loss

BBC – Burst pipes have been suspected after communities in parts of the Highlands have been found using 20 million more litres a day more than usual. Scottish Water said there could be a large number of leaks affecting properties in Dingwall, Drumndrochit and the Black Isle. It said snow cover could be making it [...]

Peerage awarded to son of the Black Isle

Ross-Shire Journal – THE son of a small tenant farmer on the Black Isle has paid tribute to his excellent grounding at a Ross-shire secondary school after being elevated to the House of Lords. Rt Hon David Maclean, pictured, who was born and brought up in the Black Isle, was amongst the new peerages announced [...]

Mushers and their dogs gear up for competition

Inverness Courier – SLED Dog racing comes to the Black Isle tomorrow and Sunday. The second race of the Sled Dog Association of Scotland Championship series will be held at Mount Eagle and should attract a large entry from across the country. The association is the premier sled dog racing club in the UK and [...]

Villagers don’t want pervs back

Highland News – PEOPLE in a quiet Black Isle village spoke of their shock and horror this week as a father and son await sentence for sickening sex crimes against women and children. Residents in Munlochy were staggered to hear the details of 30-year-old Hector MacLennan’s string of sex attacks in Inverness, including two rapes, [...]

Town to toast new brewery!

North Star – A young entrepreneur, Craig Middleton (23), has plans to set up a micro-brewery, the Cromarty Brewery Company at Davidston just outside the town, which will provide three full-time jobs. Mr Middleton’s plans were this week given a boost with the award of a £128,442 of funding from the Scottish Government’s Rural Priorities [...]

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