I took advantage of some great summer weather for a walk along the Black Isle coast (Scottish Highlands) from Rosemarkie to Cromarty. Once you're away from the crowds on the beach at Rosemarkie (mostly waiting for a sight of the dolphins), and past Caird's Cave, it's rare to see anyone along the coast as far at Eathie - a walk of about 4 miles. Eathie can be popular because of the link with Hugh Miller, one of the pioneers of Geology, who found his first fossils there. However, people tend to walk down the cliff path to it rather than along the coast. For that 4 mile stretch I was able to stow my clothes in the rucksac and enjoy the sun and the breeze to the full. Because the views are extensive along the coast in both directions, it's probably that you'll spot another walker long before they're close enough to be offended, and I was able to dress again as I approached Eathie and spotted a group scouring the beach for fossils there (a Mum and 3 daughters as it turned out, so I was glad to have seen them early and to avoid causing offence).
Thoroughly recommended, but one word of caution is needed for anyone planning to try this walk - it's not accessible at high tide. The best plan is to set out from Rosemarkie about an hour after high tide so you'll have plenty of time to walk through to Eathie and the path up the cliff for the bus back from Cromarty, or make the return along the coast to Rosemarkie.
