Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Ask A Local: An insider’s guide to the 6 best things about Dingwall

Community stalwart Andrew McIvor shares his favourite things about the ancient Highland town.

Andrew McIvor of Dingwall is proud that his town's High Street is holding its own. Image: Jasperimage
Andrew McIvor of Dingwall is proud that his town's High Street is holding its own. Image: Jasperimage

You won’t find a better champion of Dingwall than Andrew McIvor.

He’s fiercely proud of his market town, a royal burgh since 1226.

Andrew is currently chairman of the community council, chairman of the Fire Brigade Club and chairman of the Gala committee, so he’s very much invested in Dingwall life.

While he acknowledges that Dingwall is taking the same kicking from modern life as every other rural town and village in the country, he says the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Here’s Andrew’s six favourite things about Dingwall life.

Starting with…

1. Dingwall’s great community spirit

Dingwall Classic Car and motorcycle show at Foulis Castle. Image: Les Parker.

Andrew says: “The voluntary side is impressive, whether it be for the Gala Day, the Rotary Fair, the classic car show in September or the Wednesday ceilidhs at the Legion, to name but a few.”

Through his roles in the community council, fire brigade club and gala committee, he’s had plenty of experience in asking for funds, help and support for community events.

“I’ve never been told no,” he says.

2. A community that remembers its heroes

Andrew is particularly proud of how Dingwall honours its war dead.

“We’ve got four different memorials, all within walking distance of each other, including one remembering the North of Scotland dead at Normandy.

“They’re all worth a look.”

Andrew in front of one of Dingwall's war memorials, with the National Hotel in the background.
Andrew is proud of the way Dingwall honours its war dead. Image: Jasperimage

The granite Boer War memorial is to the Seaforth Highlanders 2nd Battalion, bearing 180 names of those who lost their lives at Modder River and the Battle of Magersfontein.

The Cambrai memorial is an unusual wooden cross commemorating the 1917 Battle of Cambrai and the Seaforth Territorials who fell in it, while the 1922 sandstone Dingwall civic memorial commemorates the dead of both world wars.

3. Dingwall has great shops

Shopping wise, Andrew has nothing but praise for his town.

“You can get almost anything you need here,” he says. “We’ve lost a few national chains recently like M&Co and Edinburgh Woollen Mill, but on the other hand, the council is splitting the old woollen mill shop into three units which might encourage smaller independent shops, and Home Bargains is coming in soon.”

There are rumours of a third supermarket too, so it’s not just Andrew who sees a bright future for Dingwall.

Andrew on the High Street, standing outside Dingwall's museum.
Dingwall’s museum is close to Andrew’s heart. Image: Jasperimage

4. The town’s museum

Andrew’s also proud of his town’s museum, the former Town Hall on the High Street.

“It’s close to my heart,” he says.

“It has a military room with displays about our local Seaforth Highlanders, and our military hero Sir Hector MacDonald.

“There’s a smiddy, rescued from the old Gordon Street mill.

“The museum carries a lot of history about the town,  which is just two years off 800 years since it became a Royal burgh.

“We’re already planning big celebrations for the anniversary.”

Andrew in front of Dingwall and Highland Marts Ltd on the outskirts of the town.
Andrew loves the buzz at Dingwall Auction Mart and often visits Frasers auction rooms. Image: Jasperimage

5. The Dingwall auction mart

Andrew loves Dingwall’s auction mart, just outside the town.

He said: “We’re lucky having such a  modern-thinking mart so close to the town.  I often pop down to the Friday Fraser’s auction just to have a look and see the characters.

“There’s a real buzz about the place.”

And making everything easy for visitors to Dingwall is its ample free parking, something which Andrew sees as a real asset to the town.

He’s worried though that in these cash-strapped days, it might eventually go, but for the moment: “Our local councillors are right behind the free parking,” he says.

Andrew in the stands of Ross County FC.
Naturally Andrew is proud of his home football team and sees Ross County as an asset to Dingwall. Image: Jasperimage

6. Ross County

Last, and very far from least, is Dingwall’s own football club, Ross County.

As well as being a supporter, Andrew loves the buzz that takes over the town when the team is playing at home.

He said: “I’m sick of hearing keyboard warriors complaining about Dingwall and blaming the council, but the council’s fighting to keep the main services going.

“There’s no spare cash.

“It’s Dingwall’s volunteers who are the local heroes and make it what it is.”

Conversation