EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

DORNOCH , a genteel and appealing town eight miles north of Tain, lies on a flattish headland overlooking the Dornoch Firth . Surrounded by sand dunes and blessed with an exceptionally sunny climate by Scottish standards, it's something of a middle-class holiday resort, with solid Edwardian hotels, trees and flowers in profusion, and miles of sandy beaches giving good views across the estuary to the Tain peninsula. The town is also renowned for its championship golf course , ranked eleventh in the world and the most northerly first-class course. Dornoch was the scene for 2000's most prestigious rock'n'roll wedding, when Madonna married Guy Ritchie at nearby Skibo Castle and had her son baptized in Dornoch cathedral.

Dating from the twelfth century, Dornoch became a royal burgh in 1628. Among its oldest buildings, which are all grouped round the spacious square, the exquisite cathedral was founded in 1224 and built of local sandstone. The original building was horribly damaged by marauding Mackays in 1570, and much of what you see today was restored by the Countess of Sutherland in 1835, though her worst Victorian excesses were removed last century, when the interior stonework was returned to its original state.

Buses from Tain and Inverness stop in the Square, where you'll also find a tourist office (May-Oct Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; tel 01862/810400). There's no shortage of accommodation : Tordarroch B&B (tel 01862/810855; March-Oct; £40-50), has a great location opposite the cathedral, as does the Trevose (tel 01862/810269; under £40; March-Sept) which is swathed in roses. Expensive gourmet meals are available at the 2 Quail restaurant (tel 01862/811811; Tues-Sat) on Castle Street, which also has tasteful rooms (£60-70); Mallin House Hotel (tel 01862/810355) is famous for seafood, and Luigi's , on Castle Street, is a good spot for snacks and lunches.