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Six days along Scotland's East coast
(click the map for a larger version in a new window)
This walk is every bit as pretty as the many photos of it. The weather (at the very end of August 2024) was perfect - warm and dry but not too hot. There were no midges or biting things of any kind. We really enjoyed ourselves.
However, there were sections where the miles could go by without much changing. Some of the villages were struggling, with pubs closing and not many cafés. Our walking days were very uneven, dictated by finding places to stay.
Waymarking is excellent, and it's impossible to get seriously lost. It's basically flat, so not a difficult walk. We had the Moray Way Companion by Norman Thompson, and I used mapy for those little moments of doubt.
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Day 1: London to Forres We took an afternoon flight from London Gatwick to Aberdeen Dyce airport, then into Aberdeen with a final train to Forres, arriving at 7pm. There may have been an easy way of getting from the airport to Dyce railway station but I couldn't see it. We could have come from Inverness airport, or sat on a train for 9 hours. Day 2: Forres to Findhorn Forres was full of flowers, a lovely start! (photo 1.) However the path to Findhorn (about six miles) is shared with bicycles and has no summer view of the lake. We visited the Findhorn Foundation and had good lunch at the Phoenix café (photo 2). There was plenty of time to explore Findhorn (photo 3), its Ice House, and the sands beyond the village. Day 3: Findhorn to Hopeman This was low-lying and lovely, with sand, heather (photo 4) and dunes and, later, a forest track. The car park at Roseisle has a summer café, very welcome in this 7-mile section. We could find nowhere to eat in Burghhead (photo 5), so bought sandwiches from a convenience store and picnicked in the sun. The afternoon walk included some rocks (photo 6) and seabirds (photo 7), and was on an old railway line - very easy walking. Day 4: Hopeman to Lossiemouth This is a lovely six-mile section of cliff walking, with many coves (photos 8 and 9). As the lighthouse comes into view you can go down to the beach (photo 10) and stay on it; unaware of this, I scrambled up the dune cliff and spent some time negotiating long sea-grass (photo 11) before all became clear at the lighthouse itself. |
Lossiemouth is a successful village with a good café by the harbour on the east side, before walking back to our accommodation on the west side.
Day 5: Lossiemouth to Buckie This was a very long day for us, 15 miles, so we set off from near the golf club (photo 12) at 8.30, carrying breakfast and lunch. The start is spectacular, over a footbridge and along a superb beach (photo 13, looking back). After a while the sand stops and we found a path slightly inland over the pebbles. It's enjoyable (not quite so nice with the concrete defences), but not a lot happens (photo 14) until you get to Kingston and go inland on a lovely rural trail to Garmouth. Then it's across the Spey, with a left turn to the Dolphin Centre at Spey Bay. We saw no Dolphins, but had a good rest and food in the café. The final section takes you on a pretty woodland path, and then by the coast, near to roads and cars but not spoiled by them (photos 15 and 16). We saw seals on a distant outcrop (photo 17). At Buckie we were too tired to find a restaurant, but had a supper of beer, whisky and crisps. Day 6: Buckie to Cullen and London This last section is beautiful - more sands, villages and cliffs (photos 18 and 19). It ended with a splendid descent down to the final beach (photo 20) at Cullen. At about six miles I was expecting to do this in three hours but it took more like four, partly because we dawdled. We caught bus number 35 all the way back to Aberdeen, for a meal, another bus to the airport, and home. |
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