Sites of Special Scientific Interest on the Black Isle

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Sites of Special Scientific Interest

If someone enquired whether you had visited Sites of Special Scientific Interest, (SSSIs), you might imagine they were talking about visits to museums, astronomical observatories, or perhaps lighthouses or hydro-electric infrastructure. But no, SSSIs are not man-made; quite the opposite. They are the very best examples of diversity in our natural environment. And because they are so special, many of them are difficult to find, and difficult to learn about. You are often "on your own" when you go there - but you may be sure there will be much to explore. You will not find information boards at the entrance to the sites, or signposts at the nearest parking spaces on local roads. Planners at the local council perhaps know most about SSSIs, as they must ensure their status is not affected by their decisions.

In Scotland, NatureScot has designated 1422 SSSIs, and these cover over a million hectares, or 12.6% of Scotland’s land area. Sites range in size from the very small (less than a hectare) to the vast Cairngorms SSSI, which extends to more than 29,000 hectares. These SSSIs are areas of land and water that NatureScot considers to best represent Scotland’s diversity of plants, animals and habitats, rocks and landforms, or a combination of such natural features. They are the essential building blocks for nature conservation in Scotland.

NatureScot hosts a website that provides information on all the SSSIs. The website has a valuable Search Facility embedded in an interactive map, so you can find all the sites in a chosen area. The website contains descriptive text and maps, but no images. The management plans for all the sites are provided, so we can all see how the unique features of the SSSIs are expected to be safeguarded.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest on the Black Isle

This article describes the SSSIs on the Black Isle by providing links to the NatureScot website, a map and NatureScot's concise summary of the features that make each site special. This is followed by my personal reflections on each SSSI together with images taken on my many visits. Further images will be required to show all the features that led to the SSSI designation.

There are ten SSSIs on or bordering The Black Isle.



The location of the ten sites are shown on the map and are listed here in order of size, together with their unique Site Number:

There are seven sites wholly within the Black Isle

1377 Roskill with an area of 9 hectares
1531 The Dens with an area of 9 hectares
540 Drummondreach Wood with an area of 14 hectares
494 Dam Wood with an area of 19 hectares
253 Braelangwell Wood with an area of 68 hectares
1179 Monadh Mòr with an area of 155 hectares
1214 Munlochy Bay with an area of 302 hectares

There are three large coastal sites that extend beyond the Black Isle

1376 Rosemarkie to Shandwick Coast with area of 445 hectares in total
159 Beauly Firth with area of 1423 hectares in total
467 Cromarty Firth with area of 3614 hectares in total

In this article we discuss each site, leading from the smallest SSSI to the largest.

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