Avoch

This is the view of the some of the fishermans cottages in Avoch, Pronounced 'Och' meaning field of the stream. This may come from the Gaelic for ford or shallow water. Avoch Burn was one described as the largest on the Black Isle and used to contain red trout but by 1891 Brown trout had taken over.
You can see where the burn meets the firth , it's where most of the gulls are sitting. It runs past the Community Centre where I used to run the playgroup and we often saw a heron fishing there. We also enjoyed watching the ducks and swans by Henrietta Bridge . The water was strong enough to power three corn mills and woollen carding mill ( where wool fibres are separated and then assembled into a loose strand )

Fishing was a very important industry in Avoch and to this day many of the men are still fishing men being away from home for weeks on end. You can still see the old poles that were used for the salmon nets. The nets are still mended in a little old shed near to the burn. It's interesting to see a skill that has nt changed for years.
There used to be enough herring in the firth to be able to fish during the Winter. These were known as 'Kessacks' or Kessock herring .

Mussels and lug worms would also be collected mainly from Munlochy bay and used for bait. You could see their wormcasts on the surface of the sand today when as the tide was out.

Much better day than forecast although I would nt want to get caught in the heavy showers that appear from no where.