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Nairnshire
Nairnshire, Scotland
Nairnshire is a wee shire on the Moray Firth,
just 22 miles in length and 15 miles in breadth.
The county consists of a flattish coastal region where
the vast majority of the population live, with a sparsely populated hilly interior, rising to the
foothills of the Grampian Mountains in the south. These moorlands,
known as the Nairnshire Hills, reach 2,162 feet at Carn-Glas-Choire,
the county's very southernmost point.
Type: Historic County
Lat, Long: 57.53419,-3.878865
Grid Reference: NH876508
Country: Scotland
Explore Nairnshire on Wikishire
The coast forms an arc shape, with the Whiteness Head peninsula in the west and The Bar peninsula in the east. The seaboard is skirted by sandbanks dangerous to navigation, but the beaches are charming, lined by low dunes extending into Morayshire.
Carn-Glas-Choire
Nairn is the county's only substantial town; a popular seaside resort. The Links, Nairn is one of the finest golf courses in Scotland. The narrow-streeted Fishertown surrounds a harbour built by Thomas Telford while Victorian villas stand in Nairn's 'West End'. It is believed that the Duke of Cumberland stayed in Nairn the night before the Battle of Culloden.
Cottages in Fishertown
The villages of Nairnshire crowd around Nairn and the coast. From the top of Castle Hill in Auldearn is a view for many miles and a 17th-century pigeon loft named the Doocot. Rait Castle is a ruined 13th-century hall-house castle just south of Nairn.
Doocot at Auldearn
The only sizeable rivers of the county are the Findhorn and the Nairn, both of which rise in Inverness-shire. The Nairn, shortly after issuing from Strathnairn, flows towards the north-east and enters the Moray Firth at the county town, Nairn. The River Findhorn runs through Strath Dearn in Nairnshire's hill districts, on its way to Findhorn Bay in neighbouring Morayshire. The 18th-century stone Dulsie Bridge crosses a spectacular gorge on the Findhorn. There are eight lochs in the county, all small. Nairnshire contains many beautiful woods and much picturesque and romantic scenery.
Dulsie Bridge
Five miles south of Nairn, Cawdor Castle is built around a 15th-century tower house, with substantial additions in later centuries and set amid beautiful gardens. The castle is perhaps best known for its literary connection to William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth, in which the title character is made "Thane of Cawdor".
Cawdor Castle
To the north of Dulsie Bridge is a monolith called the Princess Stone. A greater number of the mysterious prehistoric stones with cup-markings occur in Nairn than anywhere else. Mote hills are also common. At Balnuaran of Clava is a group of three Bronze Age cairns, the Clava Cairns. A stone circle surrounds each tomb. The cairns incorporate cup and ring mark stones, carved before they were built into the structures. There are many other cairns of this type in the area. Compared with these, the fine castles of the shire seem positively modern.
Clava Cairns
The area was originally inhabited by the Picts, who had been Christianised by the 9th century AD. Nairn became part of the kingdom of Scotland and was included in the ancient province of Moray. William de Moravia was appointed sheriff of Inverness and Nairn in 1204. From the 14th century Nairnshire became a hereditary sheriffdom within the du Cawdor family.
Type: Historic County
Lat, Long: 57.53419,-3.878865
Grid Reference: NH876508
Country: Scotland
Explore Nairnshire on WikishireThe coast forms an arc shape, with the Whiteness Head peninsula in the west and The Bar peninsula in the east. The seaboard is skirted by sandbanks dangerous to navigation, but the beaches are charming, lined by low dunes extending into Morayshire.
Carn-Glas-Choire
Nairn is the county's only substantial town; a popular seaside resort. The Links, Nairn is one of the finest golf courses in Scotland. The narrow-streeted Fishertown surrounds a harbour built by Thomas Telford while Victorian villas stand in Nairn's 'West End'. It is believed that the Duke of Cumberland stayed in Nairn the night before the Battle of Culloden.
Cottages in Fishertown
The villages of Nairnshire crowd around Nairn and the coast. From the top of Castle Hill in Auldearn is a view for many miles and a 17th-century pigeon loft named the Doocot. Rait Castle is a ruined 13th-century hall-house castle just south of Nairn.
Doocot at Auldearn
The only sizeable rivers of the county are the Findhorn and the Nairn, both of which rise in Inverness-shire. The Nairn, shortly after issuing from Strathnairn, flows towards the north-east and enters the Moray Firth at the county town, Nairn. The River Findhorn runs through Strath Dearn in Nairnshire's hill districts, on its way to Findhorn Bay in neighbouring Morayshire. The 18th-century stone Dulsie Bridge crosses a spectacular gorge on the Findhorn. There are eight lochs in the county, all small. Nairnshire contains many beautiful woods and much picturesque and romantic scenery.
Dulsie Bridge
Five miles south of Nairn, Cawdor Castle is built around a 15th-century tower house, with substantial additions in later centuries and set amid beautiful gardens. The castle is perhaps best known for its literary connection to William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth, in which the title character is made "Thane of Cawdor".
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Cawdor Castle
To the north of Dulsie Bridge is a monolith called the Princess Stone. A greater number of the mysterious prehistoric stones with cup-markings occur in Nairn than anywhere else. Mote hills are also common. At Balnuaran of Clava is a group of three Bronze Age cairns, the Clava Cairns. A stone circle surrounds each tomb. The cairns incorporate cup and ring mark stones, carved before they were built into the structures. There are many other cairns of this type in the area. Compared with these, the fine castles of the shire seem positively modern.
.jpg)
Clava Cairns
The area was originally inhabited by the Picts, who had been Christianised by the 9th century AD. Nairn became part of the kingdom of Scotland and was included in the ancient province of Moray. William de Moravia was appointed sheriff of Inverness and Nairn in 1204. From the 14th century Nairnshire became a hereditary sheriffdom within the du Cawdor family.