The Beauly Firth () is a

firth Firth is a word in the English and Scots languages used to denote various coastal waters in the United Kingdom, predominantly within Scotland. In the Northern Isles, it more often refers to a smaller inlet. It is linguistically cognate to Scan ...

in northern

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is the outlet for both the

River Beauly The River Beauly (, ) is a river in the Scottish Highlands, about 15 km west of the city of Inverness. It is about 25 km long, beginning near the village of Struy, at the confluence of the River Farrar and the River Glass, Strathglass ...

and

River Ness The River Ness () is a short river in the Great Glen of Scotland. It begins at Loch Dochfour, at the northern end of Loch Ness, and flows northeast towards the city of Inverness, where it empties into the Moray Firth. It runs parallel to t ...

. The Beauly Firth is bounded at its western end by the town of

Beauly Beauly ( ; ; ) is a village in Scotland's Highland (council area), Highland area, on the River Beauly, west of Inverness by the Far North Line, Far North railway line. The town is historically within Kilmorack Parish of the County of Inverness. ...

and its eastern by

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

, where it empties into the

Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; , or ) is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of the north of Scotland. It is the largest firth in Scotland, stretching from Duncans ...

. Several other watercourses drain into the Beauly Firth, including the Moniack and Redcastle Burns, and the

Caledonian Canal The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William in Scotland. The canal was constructed in the early nineteenth century by Scottish engineer Thomas Telford. Route The can ...

. At low tide, the firth's north and west shores have extensive mudflats, as well as scattered boulders. The

goosander The common merganser (North American) or goosander (Eurasian) (''Mergus merganser'') is a large sea duck of rivers and lakes in forested areas of Europe, Asia, and North America. The common merganser eats mainly fish. It nests in holes in trees. ...

is one of the firth's more common waterfowl. In 1982, the first bridge crossing the Beauly Firth was opened between

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Kessock South Kessock (Scottish Gaelic: ''Ceasag a Deas'', meaning "Ceasag's Place") is an area of the city of Inverness in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. It is situated to the city's north at the mouth of the River Ness ...

, known as the

Kessock Bridge The Kessock Bridge () carries the A9 trunk road across the Beauly Firth at Inverness, Scotland. Description The Kessock Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge across the Beauly Firth, an inlet of the Moray Firth, between the village of North Kesso ...

. As part of the

A9 road This is a list of roads designated A9. * A009 road (Argentina), a road in the northeast of Santa Fe Province * ''A9 highway (Australia)'' may refer to : ** A9 (Sydney), a road linking Windsor and Campbelltown ** Port River Expressway, a limi ...

, the bridge linked Inverness to the

Black Isle The Black Isle (, ) is a peninsula within Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish Highlands. It includes the towns of Cromarty and Fortrose, and the villages of Culbokie, Resolis, Jemimaville, Rosemarkie, Avoch, Munlochy, Tore, and North Kesso ...

for the first time. Prior to this, the Kessock Ferry crossed the firth at its eastern end since sometime in the

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian calendar dates from 1 January 1401 (represented by the Roman numerals MCDI) to 31 December 1500 (MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Re ...

. Today, the roads around the Beauly Firth provide a popular circuit for cyclists. However, the A862 (along the firth's southern shore) has grown increasingly busy, making the route difficult at peak times. Although there are no sandy beaches on the firth's coast, its pebbled shores are excellent for

stone skipping Stone skipping and stone skimming are the arts of throwing a flat Rock (geology), stone across water in such a way (usually Sidearm (baseball), sidearm) that it bounces off the surface. "Skipping" counts the number of bounces; "skimming" measur ...

, and popular amongst artists wanting to depict the sunset. The Beauly Firth is prone to flooding, affecting shoreline communities such as

Bunchrew Bunchrew (Scottish Gaelic: ''Bun Craobh'', meaning "Near to the Tree") is a small village in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is around 3 miles (5 km) west of Inverness, close to the south shore of the Beauly Firth on the A862. The ...

and

Redcastle Redcastle (), historically known as Edirdovar and Ederdour, is a medieval castle in Killearnan on the Black Isle, northern Scotland. It is so named from the colour of the stone of which it is built. The castle is now in a state of ruinous d ...

. This is a particular issue following heavy rainfall, such as in 2020's

Storm Ciara Storm Ciara was a powerful and long-lived extratropical cyclone that was the first of a pair of European windstorms to affect the United Kingdom and Ireland at peak intensity less than a week apart in early February 2020, followed by Storm Den ...

. The Beauly Firth is also known as ''Poll an Ròid'' in Scottish Gaelic, meaning "Pool of the Cross". This name is mostly used on Scotland's west coast, and is a reference to a cross erected by the Collegiate Friars of Inverness on an islet in the firth.

History

From studies in nearby

Munlochy Munlochy ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Poll Lochaidh'') is a small village, lying at the head of Munlochy Bay (''Ob Poll Lochaidh''), in the Black Isle in Ross and Cromarty, in northern Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, c ...

, scientists predict the Beauly Firth was once the site of a glacier 55m high, its meltwaters flowing into the Munlochy Valley. As the Last Glacial Period ended however, the ice gradually retreated, leaving the firth and its steep surrounding hills. Several ancient

cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

can be found within the Beauly Firth, with at least one reported to contain timber and human remains. In Ptolemy's

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

of the British Isles, written around AD 150 at the height of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, the Beauly Firth is possibly referred to as the "Varar estuary"—a view supported by Scottish scholar

William J. Watson William John Watson (17 February 1865 – 9 March 1948) was a Scottish toponymist and was the first scholar to place the study of Scottish place names on a firm linguistic basis. Life Watson was a native Gaelic-speaker, born in Milntown of N ...

. During the late-19th century, the firth was the cause of much dispute between fishermen there and others on the Moray Firth. According to fisherman in Moray, heavy garvie fishing in the Beauly Firth (where the young fish live in winter months) had led to a decline in their herring stock. This led to calls for the prohibition of garvie fishing in the area. File:Beauly Firth Sunset - geograph.org.uk - 1024591.jpg, Sunset over the Beauly Firth, viewed from its southern shore File:Beauly Firth and Kessock Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 867887.jpg, Beauly Firth looking towards the Kessock Bridge, seen in the distance File:Road by Beauly Firth - geograph.org.uk - 171127.jpg, Road running along the north shore of the Beauly Firth, from Beauly to North Kessock

Footnotes

{{Reflist Firths of Scotland Geography of Inverness Ross and Cromarty Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Inverness Sites of Special Scientific Interest in East Ross and Cromarty Landforms of Highland (council area)