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 Forres Tolbooth and Mercat Cross |
A Royal Burgh since 1140, Forres is one of Scotland's oldest towns, and also one of its most attractive. These days the A96 heading east from Nairn to Elgin by-passes Forres. Even if you don't have time to stop, it's worth following the old route of the main road through the town to gain a glimpse of what it has to offer.
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It has been claimed that Forres first appears, as Varis, on a map drawn by Ptolemy two thousand years ago. Slightly more recently, Forres became known to a wider audience as the location of some of the early action in Shakespeare's Macbeth.
 Benromach Distillery |
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 Teddy Bears' Picnic |
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 Grant Park Sunken Gardens |
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 Sueno's Stone |
A thousand years ago, Forres was home to a castle, located at the west end of the High Street. This was further strengthened to become a royal residence in the 1100s. Nothing now remains of Forres Castle and its site is a public park.
More recently, the key date in Forres' history was 23 June 1496, when it was granted a Royal Charter by King James IV of Scotland. This set out rights and privileges to be enjoyed by the townspeople of Forres; and by some accounts brought up to date an earlier charter issued by King David I.
Today's Forres shows the evidence of its earlier role as the area's principle market town. The High Street still widens to show where it accommodated the market that took place here. And the early wealth of the town is also evidenced by a number of fine buildings that give the town centre an impressive appearance. These include the tolbooth built in 1838; and the mercat cross from 1844. Forres' fine collection of churches includes the magnificent St Laurence Church in the centre of the town, and St John's Episcopal Church, opposite Grant Park.
Grant Park lies on the east side of the centre of Forres and was until it burned down in 1971 the home of Forres House. No effort has been spared here to highlight the town's success over the years in a series of "Britain in Bloom" and "Scotland in Bloom" competitions, and the site of Forres House is now a sunken garden.
On the eastern outskirts of Forres lies a real surprise. Between the old and new routes of the A96 as they converge on the B9011 roundabout, is Sueno's Stone. This 20ft high Pictish cross-slab is the tallest surviving stone - and one of the richest examples of Pictish art - in Scotland. It was discovered, buried, in 1726, and given the name, mistakenly, after Swein Forkbeard, King of Norway.
The front of the stone is largely occupied by a ring-headed cross. The background and the area of the cross itself are filled in with intricate interlaced decorations. Even more highly detailed decorations occupy the two sides of Sueno' Stone. The artistic style of the stone suggests it was carved in the 800s or 900s. The rear of the stone is divided horizontally into four panels, all depicting scenes from some great battle. You can think of it as a stone forerunner to the Bayeaux Tapestry, produced to a century or two later and carrying many battle scenes.
Ironically, however, while the story behind the Bayeaux Tapestry is very well known, the battle being depicted on the Sueno Stone is a mystery. One possibility is that is shows the defeat by the Scots under Kenneth mac Alpin in the mid 800s. Others feel it shows a battle between resident Picto-Scottish forces and invading Norsemen in the years either side of 900, around the time the nearby Pictish fortress of Burghead was destroyed. And a third interpretation suggests it shows a battle fought in 966 at Forres in which the Scottish King Dubh was killed by the men of Moray. Take your pick: the stone lacks an inscription so it's likely we will never know for sure.
Forres has other attractions for visitors. In the heart of the town is the Falconer Museum, in memory of the botanist, geologist and paleontologist Hugh Falconer, who came from Forres. Just sought of its southern edge lies the Dallas Dhu Distillery. No longer in production, this is maintained in working order by Historic Scotland and provides a unique insight into the distiller's art. If your interest is in active distilleries, then Benromach Distillery and its visitor centre, just north of the Forres bypass, is well worth visiting. The smallest distillery in Speyside, it is owned by the long established Elgin-based whisky bottlers, Gordon & MacPhail.
