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Dingwall (, ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland.
Dingwall Castle was once the biggest castle north of Stirling. On the town's present-day outskirts lies Tulloch Castle, parts of which may date back to the 12th century. In 1411 the Battle of Dingwall is said to have taken place between the Clan Mackay and the Clan Donald.
The site of the Þingvöllr, and of the medieval Moothill, thought to have been established by the Vikings after they invaded in the 8th century, lies beneath the Cromartie memorial.
An obelisk, high, was erected over the grave of George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie, near the parish church of St Clement after he died in 1717. It was affected by subsidence, becoming known as the "Leaning Tower", and was later replaced by a much smaller replica. Dingwall Town Hall, which dates back to 1745, still survives.
The Ferry Road drill hall was completed in 1910. (The 1:2500, 2nd edition, Ordnance Survey Plan no. 88.03 (Ross and Cromarty), published in 1906, does not show the drill hall) Dingwall formerly served as the county town of Ross and Cromarty: the headquarters of Ross and Cromarty County Council, established in 1889, was County Buildings in Dingwall.
James Gillanders of Highfield Cottage near Dingwall, was the Factor for the estate of Major Charles Robertson of Kincardine and, as his employer was then serving with the British Army in Australia, Gillanders was the person most responsible for the mass evictions staged at Glencalvie, Ross-shire in 1845. A Gaelic-language poem denouncing Gillanders for the brutality of the evictions was later submitted anonymously to Pàdraig MacNeacail, the editor of the Canadian Gaelic column in which the poem was later published in the Nova Scotia newspaper The Casket. The poem, which is believed either to be or to draw upon eyewitness accounts, is believed to be the only Gaelic language source of information relating to the evictions in Glencalvie.Edited by Michael Newton (2015), Seanchaidh na Coille: Memory-Keeper of the Forest, Cape Breton University Press. Pages 59–62.
As a result of storms in late October 2006, Dingwall was subject to widespread flooding the aftermath of which left the town and much of the Highlands north of Inverness, including the A9 and Far North Line, cut off for a time "Rain turns north into water world", BBC News. In August 2019 the town was once again flooded.
Dingwall's Post Office was named the UK's most improved delivery office of the year in Royal Mail's 2021 Awards.
Dingwall is on the former main road route to the north Highlands (A9). Since the completion of the Cromarty Bridge in 1979, the main road has bypassed Dingwall. Heading west, the A834 joins the A835 road which is the main route to the north west Highlands, including Ullapool.
Television signals are received from the Rosemarkie TV transmitter and the local relay transmitter situated in Fodderty.
Radio stations are provided by BBC Radio Scotland on 94.0 FM and BBC Radio nan Gàidheal (for Scottish Gaelic listeners) on 104.9 FM, MFR Radio on 96.7 FM and Highland FM on 107.1 FM which is an all-volunteer based community radio station.
The town is served by the local newspaper, Ross-shire Journal.
Dingwall Academy is the secondary school serving the town and the wider area, including communities such as Strathpeffer, Contin, Conon Bridge, Maryburgh and Muir of Ord.
The Highland Theological College is located within the town, housed in a former Scottish Hydro Electric office. It is part of the University of the Highlands and Islands. Its focus is upon Theological Education, and is an accredited university for training Church of Scotland and United Free Church ministers and workers.
It was represented by one Member of Parliament (MP). In 1918 the constituency was abolished and the Dingwall component was merged into the county constituency of Ross and Cromarty which was itself abolished in 1983.
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