Ask a Local: Writer Neil Lancaster's top 5 things about the Black Isle

Neil Lancaster will never forget the years grafting in London when he was working as a detective on a serious crime unit.

The daily grind was arduous, intense, and full of high stakes activity, with long hours, occasional danger, and lots of exposure to building cases against professional criminals.

But then, in 2013, he became ill with an auto-immune disease called sarcoidosis, which causes swellings, called granulomas, in the lungs.

It took months to get the diagnosis and given Neil had a young son, it was a really worrying situation. Yet, unlike others, after about a year, the disease went into remission. He was relieved, of course, but it made him wonder.

Was slogging away at the coal face of law-enforcement until retirement all there was to life? Or was there an alternative?

The alternative was…the Black Isle

There was – the Black Isle.

Moving there both transformed him and his family’s life, and brought a new career for Neil as a best-selling crime author.

Here, Neil explains his five favourite things about the new home he loves so much.

Former police officer Neil Lancaster has fallen in love with the Black Isle. Image: Harper Collins

1. It’s a stunning location

He said: “We had been coming here for a few years, because we have family up here, and my nephew had a son who was the same age as my youngest, Ollie.

“We had fallen completely under the spell of the place, with its stunning scenery. And, after my 100mph life, coming to the Black Isle felt like taking off tight shoes. The pace of life was just so different, compared to the south east of England.”

“We were visiting my nephew when my wife found a house on the web. It was a lovely place, on the edge of Milbuie Forest, ten minutes from Fortrose and 20 minutes from Inverness, with wonderful views 60 miles to the Cairngorms. We fell in love with it.”

Bottlenose dolphin in Moray Firth — Dolphins can be spotted at different parts of the Black Isle. Image: Sandy McCook/ DC Thomson.

2. The beaches are a must-see

He added: “I love the outdoors. Fyrish Monument just outside Evanton, is such a stunning location that I set an opening scene right on the top of it in my fourth novel.

“Rosemarkie Beach is a marvellous place and, of course, if you time it right, the Chanonry Point dolphins will put on a display for you.

“Eathie Beach is a really cool place to visit, with a long, steep walk down to see the bothies, and maybe try your luck fossicking for a fossil or two. (I also set a scene here in my book The Night Watch.)

Rosemarkie Beach is one of the many attractions of the Black Isle.

3. The shops and inns are superb

“I love Cromarty, which is a really special place. There’s a real juxtaposition between the timeless, narrow streets, wild Sutor’s Steps and nice little shops, set against the huge, monolithic oil rigs in the harbour undergoing renovation.

“The best coffee can be found at the Slaughterhouse, right opposite the Cromarty to Nigg car ferry. And, if you happen to pop into the Fishertown Inn, you might occasionally find me sharing a pint with Sir Ian Rankin, who has a holiday place nearby.

Nigg on the Criomarty Firth can be a ghostly place at night. Pic: Sandy MCCook.

4. It’s a festival community

“There again, if you visit in May, you’ll find lots of crime writers, and crime fiction fans all here for the Cromarty crime and thrillers weekend.

“Some of the best writers in the world pitch up every year to talk about their books and there’s always a great atmosphere.

“The Highland folk have been so welcoming, and much of this seems to me to come from the slightly slower place of life.

“Every Thursday, the local binmen make a huge fuss of my daft dog, Peggy who just adores them, possibly because they give her biscuits. It feels like folk have more time for you here, and no one ever seems to be in such a rush.”

Neil Lancaster has gone to some dark places in his career, but now just writes about them.

5. It’s the ideal holiday spot

“The Black Isle is a perfect place for a holiday. It’s 30 minutes from the airport and 20 minutes from Inverness with all its cafes, shops, and pubs.

“You have everything you need here: wonderful beaches, leaping dolphins, one of the oldest golf clubs in the world in Rosemarkie, forests, long walks….

“I owe the Black Isle everything. It might be reminiscent of [the film] Sliding Doors, and all that nonsense, but if I had stayed in London, I would still be slogging away, and getting on the 6.20am train from St Albans to Kings Cross.

“I know which life I prefer!”

Further information is available at: www.neillancastercrime.co.uk/books-2