Rosemarkie ( sco, Rossmartnie, from gd, Ros Mhaircnidh meaning "promontory of the horse stream") is a village on the south coast of the
Black Isle peninsula in
Ross-shire (
Ross and Cromarty), northern
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
.
Geography
Rosemarkie lies a quarter of a mile east of the town of
Fortrose. The pair make up the Royal Burgh Of Fortrose and Rosemarkie, situated either side of the Chanonry Ness promontory, about north-east of
Inverness. Close to the village the ''Markie Burn'' has its mouth in the
Moray Firth. The stream runs into the ''
Fairy Glen'', a small and steep-sided valley established as a
RSPB nature reserve.
[ ]
Rosemarkie fronts on a wide, picturesque bay, with views of
Fort George and the
Moray coastline across the
Moray Firth. It has one of the finest beaches on the Moray Firth Coast Line. At the southern end of the beach is
Chanonry Point
Chanonry Point ( Scottish Gaelic: ''Gob na Cananaich'') lies at the end of Chanonry Ness, a spit of land extending into the Moray Firth between Fortrose and Rosemarkie on the Black Isle, Scotland.
Lighthouse
An active lighthouse situated at ...
, reputed to be the best location on the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
mainland from which to see
dolphins
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...
.
The village is linked to
Inverness by broadly hourly bus services, which are provided by
Stagecoach Group.
Full timetable
Retrieved 11 June 2020.
Pictish stones
Rosemarkie is probably best known for its collection of finely carved Pictish stones
A Pictish stone is a type of monumental stele, generally carved or incised with symbols or designs. A few have ogham inscriptions. Located in Scotland, mostly north of the Clyde-Forth line and on the Eastern side of the country, these stones ar ...
, which is one of the largest in Scotland at a single site. These 8th-9th-century sculptures, found in and around the town's churchyard, are displayed in the Groam House Museum, a converted 18th-century town-house on the High Street. The house is open in summer and charges a small entrance fee. These carved stones are evidence for a major early monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...
at Rosemarkie, founded by, or associated with, Saint Moluag
Saint Moluag (c. 510 – 592; also known as ''Lua'', ''Luan'', ''Luanus'', ''Lugaidh'', ''Moloag'', ''Molluog'', ''Molua'', ''Murlach'', ''Malew'' (d. 592) and Boniface, otherwise known as Curetán (fl. early 8th century). The sculptures include cross-slabs, shrine fragments and architectural pieces. One small fragment of a stone from Rosemarkie is in the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
.
Notable people
* Vince Jack (19332006), footballer
See also
* Curetán
*Bishop of Ross (Scotland)
The Bishop of Ross was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Ross, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. The first recorded bishop appears in the late 7th century as a witness to Adomnán of Iona's ''Cáin Adomnáin''. The bishopric wa ...
* Rosemarkie sculpture fragments
* Rosemarkie transmitting station
Footnotes
External links
Rosemarkie
{{Authority control
Populated places on the Black Isle
Archaeological sites in Highland (council area)
Parishes in Ross and Cromarty