Atlas

Explorer Tom Cromarty's old courthouse can still make a visitor feel as though the clerk might call their name next. The eighteenth-century building once held trials and prisoners; today its museum uses those rooms to tell the Black Isle town's much wider story. I would plead innocent of loitering, but I intend to stay long enough to hear what the walls remember. Upstairs, a recreated courtroom and recorded voices bring an old trial to life. The soundscapes use people from the local community, so the past is not delivered in a stranger's grand stage voice. Cells, objects, photographs and papers follow Cromarty from medieval burgh to fishing town and onward. Look for the changing exhibitions as well as the fixed displays. A court building makes a sharp setting for local history: law, trade and the lives of ordinary neighbours all crossed its doorstep. Behind the museum is a small orchard and garden, open even when the interior closes for the season. The courthouse sits on Church Street near Hugh Miller's birthplace, so it is easy to give the old town more time after your visit. I would ask a former judge which case was most memorable, but the recordings have better witnesses than my imagination. The museum advertises a seasonal Easter-to-October opening, with shorter afternoon visiting days outside peak summer. Its own older timetable may change, so check current dates with the museum before making a special journey. Adult entry is charged; children can enter free. Steep stairs and narrow corridors limit access in the historic building, while the rear garden remains a free, year-round stop. Come for a trial, and take away a town full of voices.