A walk around old Ardersier Ardersier Local History Group 2014
Welcome to our Ardersier village walk We hope you enjoy your tour and that the weather is dry! Allow an hour for a leisurely stroll: the walk is just 1.3 miles long. Unfortunately, at time of printing, some older paths are not wheelchair friendly. 1836 - at Fort George The parish name Ardersier is documented as far back as 1227. The land here was part of the diocese of Ross to the north, protecting the ferry crossing to the Black Isle. The ferry was used for travel and trade, and for pilgrimage to St Duthac s shrine. In the 17th century, it was the busiest crossing of the inner Moray Firth. The main travel routes historically were by sea, until the military roads were built in the 18th century. Walk start: Beginning at the slipway, make your way along the shore path, keeping the sea on your left. One mile directly 1 ahead is Fort George, built by the British Government following the 1745-6 Jacobite uprisings, and well worth a visit. Fort George has had a great influence on the village since its construction. Ahead on the right is Cromal Terrace a row of cottages built in 1903. Turn right and follow the path along the front of the cottages. The field here was the village Bowling Green and tennis courts opened in 1936 the 3rd year that Fred Perry won Wimbledon!
2 At the end of the path turn right towards the village. The hill above the village is Cromal mount - a raised beach, and natural lookout. The remains of a hill top fort and possible medieval motte have been excavated. Archaeological evidence shows that the Ardersier area was inhabited as far back as Mesolithic times, but it was sparsely populated until Fort George was in construction. The current village was then formed alongside the existing hamlet of Stuarton. The village consisted of two areas, Campbelltown and Stuarton, each owned by neighbouring estates and each within a separate parish. You should now be passing four fine Edwardian houses, built in 1910, and overlooking the football pitch. At the end of the row of houses turn right towards the sea, signposted Community Garden. The garden is next to the slipway where we started. Between the car park and the old sheds is an old boundary stone previously part of a line of such stones marking the military boundary for Fort George. During the world wars of the 20th century the military line was again positioned well in front of the Fort, and locals needed a pass to travel across it. From the boundary stone, turn left towards the High Street again. This lane was Black Vennel - part of a network of lanes running between the cottages, between the High Street and the shore. The layout of housing here is typical of a Scottish fishing village, with the houses gable end on to the weather, and lofts for nets or grain above.
3 Cross the road towards the hayloft and stables of the Gun Lodge Hotel. The hotel was built as Cromal Lodge - a private house - by a retired Army officer in 1769 the same year as Fort George was completed. It is said to be haunted by Georgina the ghost, a girl once crossed in love, who sometimes comes in the night to sit on the end of your bed! Ardersier has had several hotels in its day. In the 1840s there were 10 public houses in Campbelltown alone. Ahead in the square, Eskadale was once The Temperance Hotel the Temperance movement was strong amongst fishing communities in the early 20th century and alcohol was forbidden. In front of Eskadale there are more history notes on the village square notice board. The fountain was built by public subscription to commemorate the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. Walking along the High Street you will see a mixture of 18th century cottages, and 19th century houses. The first were built 4 by Cawdor estate to house working families when they were relocated from the Fort George land, and the larger 18th century houses (e.g. no's 57-60) were built for officers at Fort George. Until the 1980s there were several shops in the High Street and 100 years previously, the village had over 50 businesses. You can still see the outlines of old shop fronts in the masonry of several properties.
5 At the Y junction is the old Alma Hotel. It has an unusual 3 sided north end, as it was reputedly built as a lookout post for the roads leading to Fort George. It became an inn in 1812, and continued as such for 160 years. At some point it too has been a shop front: you can just see the old painted signs above the windows: Chandler, Tobacco and Grocer. Across the High Street is the George Inn formerly the Star and a part of the Coaching Inns network, where stagecoach travellers could eat, rest and change horses. Behind the Inn is the Posty Well - one of several Ardersier wells - one of which on the shore was believed to cure whooping cough. 6 Continue along the High Street past the old Free Church to the junction at the bottom of School Brae. Looking up the hill you can see the gable end of the old village school of 1871. The cenotaph is also here at the top of the hill, and just beyond was Fort George Station - the terminus of the railway branch line, operating from 1899 until 1958. Cross the road to the wee lane and follow it along past some small cottages on the right. The photo below shows the row ahead of you on the right as it was in 1957. 82-84 Ardersier High Street 1957 Falkirk Museums. Licensor www.scran.ac.uk Along on your left is Windyhill the last thatched cottage in the village. Ardersier was once known for its 365 thatched cottages one for every day
Crossing the lane behind Windyhill, walk along the path in front of the row of cottages known locally as Fisher Row. This is still part of the High Street in the Campbelltown side of the village. 7 The Parish boundary ditch ran along by Stuart Street, creating a marshy lagoon where the gardens are now, and where fishermen could store boats. In 1852 Dr Tolmie campaigned to have it drained as cholera was present in the village. He was well respected in Ardersier, and when he died, the village raised a subscription for a large memorial stone still in Kirkton cemetery, the site of the original Ardersier Parish church. Many houses had smoke sheds for smoking their catch if it could not be used fresh. Ardersier women worked in the fishing too, baiting lines, taking fish to sell outside the village, and carrying their men to the boats so they stayed dry in their heavy leather boots. 8 At the end of Fisher row, cross Manse Road to the wee path and continue along to emerge at West End Drive. This too is the original High Street and it continued along to the left to an area of housing known as The Crook. At the T junction you now are on Stuart Street, the main street of the old Moray Estates Stuarton part of the village. The cottages ahead on Stuart Street originally had thatched roofs. You may have spotted the small cottage at the south entrance to the village This is the old Toll House,part of the Parliamentary road network built in the early 1800s. 9 Turn right and walk along Stuart Street, crossing the road towards the sea where the pavement begins on the shore side. At low tide the old jetty supports are still visible. The jetty was built in 1895 to support the fishing trade, but the fishermen were charged a fee to tie up there, and so they continued to pull their boats up the beach. The jetty was a focal point for the village, a good place to fish from, and children learnt to swim by holding on to the timbers. We still miss the jetty today.
10 Continue the walk along the shore path. The grassy area along the shore was used for drying nets and pulling up fishing boats. The 20th century saw the demise of fishing from Ardersier, and the last of the boats were used to fuel bonfires celebrating the end of World War II in 1945. During the wars, Ardersier was busy with servicemen and trainees at Fort George, and there are many tall tales of village life at this time. 11 Continue north along the shore path. Just ahead are the dolphins Moray and Cawdor - a charming recent addition to the village. You may spot real dolphins at the turn of the tide, particularly across the water at Chanonry lighthouse. Looking upwards from here, and behind the Black Isle, on a clear day you will see the summit of Ben Wyvis our nearest Munro. Continue back to where we started our walk. Another former hostelry, The Ship Inn was where the Dolphin Bay Suites are today. We hope you enjoyed the walk. If you would like to know more about old Ardersier, or have information or corrections to add, please contact our website Ardersier Archive. http://www.spanglefish.com/ardersierarchive This leaflet was researched and produced by Ardersier Local History Group, inspired by previous walks booklets by Sandra Law. Printing was supported by WEA Scotland and Highlife Highland. Every effort has been made to comply with copyright regulations. Version 2 for booklet printing - March 2014