Tourist's guide to visit Ross-shire

Visit Ross-shire – things to do & explore

Overview of Ross-shire history & facts by Walkfo

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Planning a visit to Ross-shire?

Ross-shire (/ˈrɒs.ʃaɪər/; Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting of numerous enclaves or exclaves scattered throughout Ross-shire’s territory. Ross-shire includes most of Ross along with Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Dingwall is the traditional county town. The area of Ross-shire is based on that of the historic province of Ross, but with the exclusion of the many enclaves that form Cromartyshire. For shreival purposes the area was first separated from the authority of the sheriff of Inverness by Act of Parliament during the reign of King James IV, the sheriff to sit at Tain or Dingwall. Sheriffs were seldom appointed, and further acts of 1649 and 1661 restated its separation from Inverness. The 1661 act also clarified the area encompassed, based on the pre-Reformation Diocese of Ross. Sir George Mackenzie’s Ross-shire estates were transferred to Cromartyshire by a 1685 Act of Parliament (repealed 1686, re-enacted 1690). The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 provided that “the counties of Ross and Cromarty shall cease to be separate counties, and shall be united for all purposes whatsoever, under the name of the county of Ross and Cromarty.” The two counties that became the single local government county of Ross and Cromarty, which continued to be used for local government purposes until 1975, although Ross-shire remained as the postal county for the mainland part of the local government county until 1996. In 1975, Ross and Cromarty was itself replaced by the Highland region and the Western Isles, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. The region became a unitary council area in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. There was a Ross-shire constituency of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801, and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. In 1832 it was merged with the Cromartyshire constituency to form the Ross and Cromarty constituency.

Ross-shire geography / climate

Western Ross-shire, also known as Wester Ross, is typified by its mountainous Highland scenery, especially the Torridon Hills which includes such peaks as Beinn Eighe and Liathach. The highest point in the county is Càrn Eighe at 1,183 metres (3,881 feet). It contains a long, fractured coastline along The Minch and Inner Sound (opposite Skye), consisting of a number of isolated peninsulas split by sea lochs; from north to south the chief of these are Loch Broom, the Scoraig peninsula, Little Loch Broom, Gruinard Bay, Rubha Mòr peninsula, Loch Ewe, Rua Reidh/Melvaig peninsula, Loch Gairloch, Loch Torridon, Applecross peninsula, Loch Kishorn, Loch Carron, Lochalsh peninsula, Loch Long, Loch Duich and the Glenelg peninsula which is shared with Inverness-shire. The eastern half (Easter Ross) is generally flatter, and consists of towns, villages and farmland bordering the Moray Firth. In the north Dornoch Firth separates the county from Sutherland; near the Dornoch Firth Bridge lies the thin, tapering Ness of Portnaculter peninsula. In the north-east can be found the hammerhead-shaped Tarbat peninsula which is shared with Cromartyshire; across Cromarty Firth lies the Black Isle (actually a peninsula not an island), which is also shared with Cromartyshire. To the south-east Beauly Firth forms the border with Inverness-shire. The county contains numerous lochs, the most prominent of these being Loch Ailsh, Crom Loch, Loch a’ Choire Mhòir, Loch Fada, Lochan Gaineamhaich, Loch Cluanie, Loch Loyne, Loch Monar, Loch Mullardoch, Loch a’ Bhealaich, Loch nan Eun, Loch na Leitreach, Loch an Laoigh, Loch Calavie, An Gead Loch, Loch an Tachdaidh, Loch Sgamhain, Loch a’ Chroisg, Loch Clair, Loch Coulin, Loch Fhiarlaid, Loch Dughaill, Loch Coultrie, Loch Damph, Loch Lundie, Loch na A-Oidhche, Loch Maree, Loch a’ Ghodhainn, Loch Ghaineamhach, Loch Bad an Sgalaig, Loch a’ Bhraoin, Loch Fannich, Fionn Loch, Loch na Sealga, Loch Eye, Loch Glass, Loch Morie, Loch Ussie, Loch Achilty, Loch Garve, Loch Luichart, Loch Achanalt, Loch Meig, Loch Droma, Loch Glascarnoch, Loch Coire Làir, Loch Vaich, Loch a’ Chaorunn, Loch na Caoidhe, Loch Beannacharain and the Orrin Reservoir. Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Outer Hebrides and the third largest in the British Isles after Britain and Ireland. Due to its flatter, more fertile land, Lewis contains three-quarters of the population of the Western Isles, and the largest settlement, Stornoway. To the west lie the isolated and uninhabited Flannan Isles. About 71 kilometres (44 miles) north of the Butt of Lewis lie North Rona and Sula Sgeir, a remote group of islands which are included within Ross-shire.

Islands

Eilean Bàn from the Skye Bridge, looking towards Kyle of Lochalsh Shag birds on Longa Island The Isle of Ewe Cave on Garbh Eilean, Shiant Isles The famous Callanish Stones on Lewis Seana Chnoc (at left) and Bearasaigh from the south west. Stac nam Balg is just visible to the left of Seanna Chnoc

You can visit Ross-shire, COUNTY/BOROUGH & use Walkfo to discover the best walking places with our free digital tour guide app created especially for Ross-shire. Walkfo Ross-shire has 300 locations with history, culture & travel facts, that you can explore the same way you can a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Ross-shire, being in the moment, without digital distraction and no limitations to a specific walking route – you choose where you want to go, when you want to go and Walkfo Ross-shire will keep up.

When you visit Ross-shire

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When you visit Ross-shire, Walkfo is your digital tour guide while exploring by foot, bike or bus. With numerous walks, hikes, tourist locations & travel destinations available in Ross-shire, our travel AI guide helps you get the best from your visit to Ross-shire & the surrounding areas. Our explore Ross-shire app for iPhone & Android, allows you to experience the hidden history, culture and amazing facts throughout Ross-shire whilst out walking. The digital tour guide creates interactive audio stories driven by where you walk, so you can exploration Ross-shire’s National Heritage sites, tourist attractions, historic locations or city streets freely, without the restrictions of a predefined walk & walk map.

“The Walkfo AI has curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 0 audio facts in Ross-shire alone that form an interactive Ross-shire walking map for you to explore.”

Best Ross-shire places to visit

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Ross-shire has hundreds of places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are five of Ross-shire’s best destinations to visit when exploring the area. We have condensed the information with much more detail available within Walkfo when you visit the destinations.

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Visit Ross-shire plaques

Experience Ross-shire audio walks & tours

Visiting Ross-shire with Walkfo’s things to do interactive map
The “Ross-shire things to do map” below is a preview of the places you can visit in Ross-shire and surrounding areas with our digital audio tour guide app. Each spot has content for a plaque, a building, a street or general area, providing history, culture or tourism information the you can explore.

Interactive ‘Explore Ross-shire Map’     This Ross-shire tourism map shows points of interest within a 4km radius of Ross-shire centre

Walkfo App     Walkfo

Walkfo is free to download & use (for a limited time period), so if you are looking to explore Ross-shire, go to your App Store to search for “Walkfo” or follow a links below and install on your mobile phone. Walkfo is designed for use with headphones or AirPods, so you can walk & explore whilst learning about the things around you without digital distraction.

  Apple App Store

  Google Play Store

Things to do & visit in Ross-shire and surrounding areas

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Getting to / around Ross-shire – transport links, stations, streets & traffic map

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Getting around in Ross-shire using public transportation may include roads, streets, trains, undergrounds, buses or trams. Walkfo has the following important Ross-shire public transport locations with historic / cultural / factual content when you visit:

Ross-shire Notable Public Transport Stations		Ross-shire Notable Streets & Roads

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Attention local Ross-shire historians, tour guides & Ross-shire tourism agents