Scotland: dolphins and oil on the Moray Firth

To start out our recent trip to the Highlands, we based ourselves in the seaside town of Nairn for two nights (and we would have happily stayed another night or two). We spent our second day exploring the Moray Firth (a firth is basically the Scottish equivalent of a fjord) on both sides of Inverness.

The morning was drizzly and gray, as Scottish mornings sometimes are. When we arrived in the small, historic town of Cromarty, we took a quick walk around and then settled into a table at The Pantry for some tea, scones, and hot chocolate, hoping to wait out the weather.

The sky cleared up just in time for the wildlife tour we had booked with Ecoventures. Scott was quite excited to do this dolphin-watching boat tour, but I was somewhat skeptical. I mean, if the dolphins decide not to show up, you’d be trapped on a rather boring 2-hour boat ride, wouldn’t you?

To confirm my doubts, at the pre-tour briefing we were reminded that the dolphins indeed might not show up, pesky free spirits that they are, so don’t get your hopes up. And it’s not whale season, so don’t expect to see them, either. Then we suited up in big heavy waterproof outfits and made our way to the boat.

I needn’t have feared boredom as much as I did, because even without dolphins there was some lovely wildlife to view. The tour started out by some bird colonies on some colorful cliffs.

Next it was out to more open waters where our charming guide Sarah scanned the seas for signs of big sea mammals. Was that a splash off in the distance? Suddenly we were zooming this way and that.

And then there were dolphins. Just one at first, then a pair, then dolphins all around us.

It was hard to choose between trying to capture dolphins on film and just sitting back and enjoying them. We couldn’t resist snapping away just a bit, though it soon became obvious that it would take someone with quicker reflexes than I to get a shot of a dolphin in mid-jump.

After getting our fill of dolphins (and one menacing shark), we left Cromarty to explore the rest of the peninsula (which is confusingly called the Black Isle).

There are several oil drilling platforms in the water around the Black Isle. I found them oddly picturesque.

We made our way slowly back to Nairn for another sunset walk on the beach (this time minus the colorful sunset) before a yummy dinner and drinks at the charming Bandstand restaurant, just down the road from our B&B.

We delighted at the selection of cask ales on tap in the pub, the well-embellished whisky list, and the fresh, local cuisine.

Next up: more beach, more cute towns, and a glimpse of Speyside (that mythical whisky-producing area).