The new tenant wants to return The Plough to a "must visit" pub offering local real ale, and with two Cromarty hand pumps, nothing could be more local with the brewery just under 6 miles down the road.

There is a second "modern" bar through the door from the main bar.

This distinctive old country pub in a pretty village built with the local red sandstone is unmissable with its distinctive leaning gable. Listed as a "CAMRA heritage pub" with its cosy wood lined bar and an ancient marriage stone lintel (dated 1691) over the fireplace.

The there are trestle tables outside in a small enclosed grassed area which is a suntrap, and the walls of the pub give off their heat long after the sun has moved round.

Maybe go for a walk to work up a thirst and appetite, then retire to the popular bistro, - best book if you do intend to eat, particularly over the weekend.

From the pub, there are pleasant forested walks up the RSPB administered Fairy Glen, to the waterfalls (2 km), the last section only for the sure footed! Equally as pleasant is a walk along the beach eastwards to the caves and back, or a real leg stretch to the lighthouse at Chanonry Point to see the dolphins.

If you prefer to travel by bus, the service runs hourly (Mon-Sat, but poor Sun) from Inverness, via Fortrose and Rosemarkie, and onto Cromarty.

If you want to see the dolphins, and the occasional seal, best on a FLOOD tide, (tide coming in)