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This postcard shows a view of Strathpeffer looking west from Knockfarrel towards the Strathconon hills. Strathpeffer lies 4 miles (6 km) west of Dingwall in the strath of the River Peffery. The valley is sheltered on the north side by Ben Wyvis, and to the west by the mountains of Ross-shire. The narrow ridge of the Cat's Back (Druim Chat), with the hill Knockfarrel at one end, marks its southern boundary. The River Peffery flows eastward into the Cromarty Firth.

Strathpeffer owes its growth and popularity to the discovery of sulphurous springs there in the 1770s. With the strong support of the then Countess of Cromartie, the village developed as a Victorian spa resort, its popularity greatly enhanced by the opening of the Strathpeffer branch of the Dingwall and Skye Railway in 1885. Many grand hotels and substantial Victorian villas were built to accommodate the steady stream of visitors who came to 'take the waters'. At the west end of the village can be seen the Spa Hotel. Set in grounds of six acres, it was one of the first hotels to be built but was destroyed by fire during World War 2 and replaced by a housing estate. The large building in the centre of the village is the Highland Hotel, built by the Highland Railway Company in 1911.

The Strathconon hills are made of Moine schist with interleaved slices of Lewisian Gneiss. There is evidence that humans have lived in the Strathconon valley since the Bronze Age but in the 1840s the valley was cleared by its owners, the Balfour family, to make way for sheep. Around 500 people are said to have been displaced, some to neighbouring estates and some to the Black Isle. During the 1850s Strathconon estate became noted for its deer forest.