Avoch Village

The picturesque fishing village of Avoch is situated on the south coast of the Black Isle, on the road to Fortrose and Rosemarkie. Its fishertown area is typical of many small fishing communities with tightly-packed cottages running at right angles to the shore.

The fisher cottages leading down from the High Street to the sea were built in the 19^th century. The streets are named after the Mackenzie lairds of Avoch and their spouses. Look out for streets named after Alexander, George, James, John and Margaret.

Between these streets and the Gooseburn is the area known as the 'Dock' – the oldest part of the village. In days gone by this was a maze of thatched 'but and bens' (two-roomed dwellings) facing in every direction and interspersed with alleys and closes. It still is an interesting place to visit and best discovered on foot as the area was obviously not built with cars in mind!

The Gooseburn is spanned by Henrietta Bridge, one of the many building projects the geologist Hugh Miller worked on, in his days as a stonemason. Across the bridge (1802-1856) is a row of whitewashed cottages, also built by the local laird. One hundred years ago, the village would have ended at this point, with only a few private houses built beyond these cottages.