Avoch
Avoch is a harbour-village located on the south-east coast of the Black Isle, on the Moray Firth. Ormond Castle or Avoch Castle was a garrison improved the site as well as acted as a royal castle to William the Lion; handed down to the Morays of Petty then Archibald the Grim, Lord of Galloway, upon his marital relationship to Joanna de Moravia in 1362. Descendants of Archibald, were to take the title of Earl of Ormonde from the castle. Tale has it that the town was founded by survivors of the Spanish Armada. Avoch remained in the control of David Chalmers, Lord Ormond from 1560/61 yet he surrendered his castle and also control of Avoch in 1568 when he was exiled due to his part in aiding the escape of Mary Queen of Scots. The castle as well as village then passed to Andrew Munro of Milntown. Intrepid Scottish-Canadian traveler Sir Alexander Mackenzie, the very first European to check out the excellent Canadian river now referred to as the Mackenzie River, going across North America two times, to the Arctic Ocean in 1789 and Pacific Sea in 1793, retired to Avoch in 1812 where he passed away in 1820 and was buried in the old Avoch Parish cemetery. Avoch was the area of Rosehaugh (Pittanochtie) Residence, an imposing mansion house up until it was destroyed in 1959. A substantial residence existed on this site because 1790. Craigie Well at Avoch on the Black Island has offerings of both coins as well as clouties. Cloths, woollen and human hair were additionally used as appeals versus sorcery, and as symbols of penenace and fulfilment of a vow (Sharp 1998). Much of Avoch's riches has actually come from its angling sector, and also it remains a considerable factor to the village economic climate, with numerous large angling watercrafts had or crewed from Avoch as well as an energetic anglers's co-operative based there. The harbour is no longer used by the larger watercrafts for landing but is made use of by recreation craft and watercrafts taking visitors to see the dolphins in the inner Moray Firth at Chanonry Factor. In addition to the fishing market, travelling to Inverness as well as tourism provide earnings to the village. Lazy Corner, named for the young people who collected there to pass the time, has been relocated by the road widening in the Eighties, as well as fixed up by a sculpture meant to include personality to the town. It is still a gathering place.