Explore Scotland’s prehistoric past in Cromarty
The National Trust for Scotland is to host new fossil walks from Hugh Miller’s Birthplace Cottage and Museum in Cromarty.
Visitors can take part in citizen science to record fossils along the shoreline of the Black Isle.
Fossil walks will take place from this Friday to August 31, with tours available to book online.
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Over 200 years after Miller found his first fossil, the National Trust for Scotland is offering visitors the chance to discover their own fossils on the Black Isle.
Pre-booked walks will leave from Hugh’s historic home in the town, where he was born in 1802, and walk along the shingle shoreline towards the Sutor headland guarding the Cromarty Firth.
The team at Hugh Miller’s Birthplace Cottage and Museum are working closely with a palaeontologist from the University of Aberdeen, who is currently studying the fossils around Cromarty, and the walking tours will allow guests to take part in active citizen science to contribute to their studies. Any fossils collected from the shoreline during these walks will be recorded and displayed at the museum for a month before being returned to the beach.
James Ryan, National Trust for Scotland’s (NTS) visitor services assistant at the museum, said: “We are excited to welcome visitors to our new Fossil Walks that promise to be an exciting journey back in time to discover an ancient Scotland that existed far before humans, mammals, and even dinosaurs walked the Earth.
“Visitors can follow in the footsteps of renowned home-grown geologist Hugh Miller to find fossils and explore the geology that captured his attention as a young man over 200 years ago.
“After discovering a fossil ammonite when he was 17 years old, Miller became obsessed with studying the fossils around the town he called home and in 1830, he found the first of his famous fossil fish from the Old Red Sandstone deposits on the Black Isle.
“Our tours aim to discover the fossils; examine the rocks they are encased in and the geological processes that shaped this stretch of coastline here on the Black Isle over the centuries.
“We want to ensure what we are doing doesn’t damage the geological heritage of the site, so we will be highlighting how visitors can enjoy fossil hunts in a responsible, environmentally friendly and sustainable way. So, while visitors won’t be able to take fossils home with them, they can enjoy contributing to our understanding of Scotland’s prehistoric world through citizen science.”
The tours are tide dependent, meaning times may vary each week.
Further details are available on the property’s Eventbrite page where visitors can also book a place on one of the walks: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/hugh-millers-birthplace-cottage-amp-museum-33806402821.
Stone mason, geologist, writer, and social justice campaigner, Hugh Miller was born inside a thatched cottage in Cromarty in the early 19th century. Starting from humble beginnings, he would go on to become one of Victorian Britian’s greatest minds and a leading voice of the Scottish people.
