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Saturday 10th of May 2008 |
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North Kessock and District History
Water has always played an important part in communications and transport of the Black Isle peninsula, especially when roads were poor. North Kessock which nestles beneath Ord Hill, on the north shore of the Inverness Firth, features significantly as a ferry point on many of the early maps of the area. There has probably been a ferry here, in some form or other, for thousands of years. One of the earliest recorded references to a ferry at Kessock was in the 15th Century. Then in 1591, James VI granted the ferry rights to the Town of Inverness in his Great Charter. These rights were then sold off as part of Redcastle Estate. After being in private ownership for many years the responsibility of running an effective ferry service was taken over by the Local Authorities in 1939.
The A9 was rerouted and Kessock Bridge built across the narrows in 1982, opening up the way for huge changes to the village settlements of the Black Isle. |
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Evidence of this area's long history is prolific and the North Kessock & District Local History Society was set up to investigate, promote and record that history and the changes that have taken place here over almost 7,000 years. The earliest inhabitants were hunters, farmers and fishermen.
Thus rowing boats, sailboats, steamboats and latterly a diesel-engined drive-on drive-off vessel which could carry 20 vehicles and 150 passengers have provided a direct route to the North of Scotland for centuries. As development and industry increased it became clear that the old A9 and Kessock Ferry were no longer adequate to cope with the volume of traffic.
