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This postcard shows the Kessock Ferry at North Kessock, on the Black Isle. The ferry is a stretch of water across the strait between the Moray and Beauly Firths, opposite Inverness.

In 1825 Sir William Fettes bought the estate of Redcastle, on the Black Isle, for £135,000. This purchase included the rights to operate the ferry at Kessock, linking Inverness with the Black Isle. Within three years he had built new piers and by the 1900s steam-powered boats had been introduced on the route.

In 1939 Inverness Town Council and Ross and Cromarty County Council took control of the service and by the late 1940s the ferries were able to transport vehicles across the water. The first of these was the 'Eilean Dubh', capable of carrying eight cars. The 'Inbhir Nis', with a four-vehicle capacity, was added in the 1950s and a purpose-built, roll-on roll-off ferry 'Rosehaugh' was introduced in 1967. This resulted in the 'Eilean Dubh' being relegated to the role of relief vessel.

The ferry remained in the hands of the two councils until the Kessock Bridge replaced the ferry in 1982