Alness (, ; gd, Alanais) is a town and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...
in
Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty ( gd, Ros agus Cromba), sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the l ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
. It lies near the mouth of the
River Averon, near the
Cromarty Firth, with the town of
Invergordon
Invergordon (; gd, Inbhir Ghòrdain or ) is a town and port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. It lies in the parish of Rosskeen.
History
The town built up around the harbour which was established in 1828. The area beca ...
3 miles (5 km) to the east, and the village of
Evanton 4 miles (6 km) to the south-west. The parish has a population of 5,310, although the census locality, which includes part of the parish of
Rosskeen, has a population of 5,186.
According to the Highland Council, the population of Alness has increased by around 20% since the last census in 2011. The population as of 2016 was 6,101.
For most of the 1990s and early 2000s, Alness regularly entered and won flower competitions such as Scotland in Bloom, Britain in Bloom and others, winning many awards. This helped regenerate many areas of the town, with housing estates winning separate awards.
They have not entered in recent years due to the financial costs. The town is still adorned by flowers maintained by volunteers.
In 2018, the town was crowned the Scottish Champion at the 2018 Great British High Street Awards. The judges visited the shortlisted high streets across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, meeting local businesses, shoppers and community organisations, with Alness impressing with its reinvention over the years to become a place to find everything from florists and bridal wear to delis and bakeries.
Geography
The town is in two parishes divided by the River Averon in the west and
Rosskeen in the east. Historically these were in different
presbyteries. Today there are three churches; Free Church, Church of Scotland and Baptist.
Education
The town is served by a high school,
Alness Academy, one of the main schools in Ross and Cromarty, with around 400 pupils on the school roll.
There are three primary schools, Obsdale Primary, Bridgend Primary and Coulhill Primary, situated in the east, centre and west of the town respectively. The academy is also fed by schools from nearby towns Ardross and Evanton.
Distilling
There are two distilleries in Alness;
Dalmore distillery and
Teaninich distillery
Teaninich distillery is a scotch whiskey distillery in Alness, Scotland. It was founded and built in 1817 by Hugh Munro on his estate of Teaninich Castle. Despite an initial difficulty of procuring barley whisky owing to a high demand from illega ...
.
Dalmore is owned and operated by
Whyte and Mackay Ltd
Whyte & Mackay is a company producing alcoholic beverages based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned by Emperador Inc. (a subsidiary of the Alliance Global Group).
History
Charles Mackay (1850–1919) and James Whyte founded a company as whisky ...
, which is owned by
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
based
Emperador Inc.
The award-winning distillery creates a number of different whiskies that are produced in a combination of different stills, of various sizes which give the whisky a more complex character.
Each expression of The Dalmore is matured in two different types of wooden casks: American white oak bourbon casks and exclusive aged sherry casks from Gonzalez Byass. Each sherry cask – which is hand selected by master distiller Richard Paterson – gives the whisky a deep copper colour and flavours of crushed almonds, cinnamon, ginger and citrus. The bourbon casks give the whisky notes of vanilla, spice, honey and tropical fruits.
To create a more complex character, selected expressions are finessed in exceptional casks, showcasing woods from world-renowned bodegas and exclusive wineries.
Teaninich was founded and built in 1817 by Hugh Munro on his estate of
Teaninich Castle
Teaninich Castle is situated north of the village of Evanton and just south of the town of Alness in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland.
History
It is not known exactly how long a castle has been on the site of Teaninich Castle but it is thought to dat ...
.
Despite an initial difficulty of procuring barley whisky owing to a high demand from illegal distilleries, by 1830 Teaninich produced 30 times more spirit than it did at its founding.
At that point the Munro sold the distillery to his younger brother Lieutenant-General
John Munro. As an officer he spent most of his time in India, so he decided to rent the distillery out to
Robert Pattison in 1850. The lease lasted to 1869 after which Munro leased it to
John McGilchrist Ross.
Ross relinquished the lease in 1895, and in 1898
Robert Innes Cameron
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
took a stake in the distillery, and Munro and Cameron renovated and extended the distillery,
investing £10,000 in to the renovations.
In 1904 Cameron, who also owned stakes in
Benrinnes
Benrinnes distillery is a malt whisky distillery in Aberlour producing an eponymous whisky. It was founded in 1826, and is still active. The distillery employed a unique partial triple distillation process until 2007.
History
The first time whis ...
,
Linkwood and
Tamdhu, took over the distillery completely. After Cameron died in 1933 the distillery was sold to
Scottish Malt Distillers.
The distillery suspended production between 1939 and 1946 due to barley shortages during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
The distillery mainly produces malts for blending, and it is used in
Johnnie Walker Red Label. There are no official bottlings of the malt. Since 1992 a 10-year-old malt has been available in the
flora and fauna
In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells (cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and fungi ...
series.
Amenities
Alness has an 18-hole golf course, Alness Golf Club, which was established in 1904. The last five holes run alongside the River Averon, offering a contrast from the previous holes. The course was extended from 9 to 18 holes in 1997. A new clubhouse was officially opened in 2000 and offers all facilities.
The Ardross Alness Bowling Club is situated next to the railway, and was formed in 1906.
Transport
Alness is served by
Alness railway station on the
Far North Line
The Far North Line is a rural railway line entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, extending from Inverness to Thurso and Wick. As the name suggests, it is the northernmost railway in the United Kingdom. The line is entirely single- ...
. The station consists of one platform on the northern side of the railway, with only a small shelter available. The original station platforms can still be seen on both sides of the single line through the station.
The station is 28 1⁄2 miles (45.9 km) north of
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histo ...
on the Far North Line towards
Wick.
The
Inverness and Ross-shire Railway (I&RR), which was to be a line between and , was authorised in 1860, and opened in stages. By the time that the last section, that between and Invergordon, opened on 25 March 1863, the I&RR had amalgamated with the
Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway
The Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway (I&AJR) was a railway company in Scotland, created to connect other railways and complete the route between Inverness and Aberdeen. The Inverness and Nairn Railway had opened to the public on 7 Novem ...
(I&AJR), the authorisation being given on 30 June 1862. On this last stretch, one of the original stations was that at ''Alness''.
The I&AJR in turn amalgamated with other railways to form the
Highland Railway
The Highland Railway (HR) was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921, operating north of Perth railway station in Scotland and serving the farthest north of Britain. Based in Inverness, the company was formed by mer ...
in 1865, which became part of the
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally ...
during the
Grouping of 1923. The line then passed on to the
Scottish Region of British Railways
The Scottish Region (ScR) was one of the six regions created on British Railways (BR) and consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and ex-London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) lines in Scotland. It existed from the creation ...
on
nationalisation in 1948. The station at Alness was then closed by the
British Transport Commission
The British Transport Commission (BTC) was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain (Northern Ireland had the se ...
on 13 June 1960
and remained so for 13 years.
The station reopened on 7 May 1973
and then when
sectorisation was introduced by
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...
in the 1980s, was served by
ScotRail
ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail ( gd, Rèile na h-Alba), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise ...
until the
privatisation of British Rail
The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, it had been completed by 1997. The deregulation of the industr ...
.
History

In September 1715 the
Skirmish of Alness took place between
Jacobite
Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to:
Religion
* Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include:
** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...
clans such as the MacKenzies, MacDonalds under
the Earl of Seaforth, and pro-government Munros, Rosses, MacKays under
the Earl of Sutherland. The Jacobites drove their opponents over Struie to
Bonar.
The
Fyrish Monument is a monument built in 1782 on Fyrish Hill (Cnoc Fyrish), in
Fyrish
Fyrish is the name given to an ancient area of land found just north of Evanton, Ross-shire, Scotland.
The lands of Fyrish are now part of the Novar Estate. However Fyrish were once lands which belonged to the Earl of Ross, which were forfeited ...
near Alness,
Easter Ross
Easter Ross ( gd, Ros an Ear) is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland.
The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constitu ...
, Scotland, on the orders of Sir
Hector Munro, 8th of Novar, a native lord of the area who had served in
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
. As the local population were being
cleared off their land, employment was a problem and so it was built to give the locals some work. It was said that Sir Hector rolled stones from the top of the hill to the bottom, thereby extending the amount of time worked and paying the labourers for additional hours.
It represents the Gate of
Negapatam, a port in
Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...
, India, which General Munro took for the British in 1781. It is visible from almost anywhere in the parishes of
Kiltearn
Kiltearn (Gaelic: ''Cill Tighearna'') is a parish in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. It is in the Presbytery of Ross.
The principal settlement is the village of Evanton, and the parish extends almost to Dingwall and about halfway to Alness. T ...
and Alness.
The site of the monument provides an extensive view over the
Cromarty Firth and beyond, and
Ben Wyvis can be seen clearly, especially impressive if snow-covered. A path to the top starts at a car park northeast of the hill at
OS grid NH627715.
During World War II, Alness was home to
RAF Alness
Royal Air Force Alness or more simply RAF Alness is a former Royal Air Force station located southwest of Alness, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland and north of Inverness, Inverness-shire.
History
RAF Alness was previously called RAF Invergordon u ...
, a large training and operational base for Catalina amphibians and Sunderland seaplanes, which extended from
Invergordon
Invergordon (; gd, Inbhir Ghòrdain or ) is a town and port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. It lies in the parish of Rosskeen.
History
The town built up around the harbour which was established in 1828. The area beca ...
to Alness point - now an industrial estate. A memorial to the men who were killed on operational missions was placed at this industrial estate in 2001. A propeller from a Catalina was found and restored by RAF apprentices and now resides in the town of Alness. The tennis courts on the industrial estate are the only remaining parts of the estate which date from World War II.
Notes
References
*
*
External links
Alness.com Community website commissioned by the Alness Community AssociationAlness - PastPresenthistory site
{{authority control
Towns in Highland (council area)
Populated places in Ross and Cromarty
Parishes in Ross and Cromarty