Dolphins and gannets make a big splash

Chanonry Point, Highlands Bottlenose dolphins can regularly be seen breaching the waters here - particularly if there is a run of salmon on the making tide

This spit of land extending into the Moray Firth about 18 kilometres northeast of Inverness is one of the best places in Britain to see bottlenose dolphins without going to sea. They can regularly be seen breaching the waters here - particularly if there is a run of salmon on the making tide. Birdwatchers, photographers and onlookers of all ages gather by the Chanonry lighthouse to see the display.

On my most recent visit, the dolphins were scything through the water with just their large fins showing. Experts say they can identify individuals by the variation in colour and markings, including nicks and clefts, on the fins, but, apart from one specimen with a large fin cleft, I doubt I would have been able to identify any of them again.