Auldearn

"AULDEARN, a parish, containing a post-office village of its own name, in the north-east corner of Nairnshire. It is bounded on the north by the Moray firth; on the east, by Morayshire; on the south, by the parish of Ardclach; and on the west, by the parish of Nairn. It extends 4 miles along the front; and is in length about 6½ miles and in breadth about 5½. The ground rises gradually from the coast to the inland part of the parish, where it becomes hilly. The soil is generally light and fertile in proportion to its vicinity to the sea. Near the coast is a small lake, called Loch Loy, about 1½ mile in length, and a quarter of a mile broad. Much of the surface is beautified with wood; and the whole of it, as seen from commanding eminences, backed by the firth and by the distant mountains of Ross-shire, looks smilingly lovely and brilliantly picturersque ... Population of the village in 1841; 351; in 1861, 358. Population of the parish in 1831, 1,653; in 1861, 1,328."

From the Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, edited by John Marius Wilson, 1868.