Work will start next week to revamp a popular dolphin-spotting visitor attraction in the Black Isle.
More than 120,000 people people flock to Chanonry Point – located between Fortrose and Rosemarkie – each year in the hope of seeing the cetaceans close-up.
But its growing popularity means that the car park at the end of the narrow peninsula can no longer cope with the increased visitors.
There is regular congestion during the summer and the site has become rundown in recent years.
The £273,000 project will involve refurbishing the existing car parking area.
An additional £52,950 has been spent on pre-contract and professional fees, including the cost of a design team and surveying work.
Work will start on Tuesday, January 5 and are due to be completed on March 24.
Vehicle access for residents will be maintained throughout the works and anyone wishing to visit the point on foot or by bicycle will be able to do so.
In order to avoid danger from golf balls on Ness Road, Highland Council has recommended that pedestrians use the coastal path from Rosemarkie to the point.
The project aims to enhance visitor experience through refurbishment of the existing car park area, provision of disabled parking spaces, cycle stands and new seating.
There will be a clearer route between the car park and the existing all-abilities path leading to the point and information on the wider locality will encourage visitors to better understand the area.
It is hoped this will have a knock-on effect on tourism with people extending their stay in the Black Isle and making them more likely to revisit.
Iain Brown, chairman of Fortrose and Rosemarkie Community Council, said: “It’s an expensive improvement. It seems a an awful lot of money to spend on a car parking area, albeit a very popular parking destination, when there are other priorities in our area. We would have preferred if it was improved at lesser expense. However, the work there does need done.”
Charlie Phillips, field officer for the Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society, said: “It is extremely heartening, in these financially difficult times, to see Highland Council committing the funding and effort into upgrading the car park area at Chanonry Point.”