The Moray Way: some thoughts & pictures

First camp, on Dava Moor on the Dava Way.

The Moray Way is a 100 mile/160km walk linking the Dava Way, the Moray Coast Trail, and the Speyside Way. Forres on the coast is usually the starting point for the walk. However, as I live just a few kilometres from the Dava Way at Grantown-on-Spey it seemed logical to start there. Indeed, for the first time ever I set out on a long walk from my front door. Living so close by I really should have done this many years ago.

Crags at Huntly's Cave near the start of the Dava Way

The walk took a week. I camped on five nights, stayed in a hotel on one (in Forres). The weather ranged from cloudy and windy at the start to hot and windy at the finish. There were only a few light showers of rain. 

The Dava Way follows the old railway line from Grantown-on-Spey to Forres. This is the high point at 1052 feet/321 metres. All downhill from here!

With only a few days between finishing the walk and heading down to Liverpool for the annual Outdoor Trade Show I've barely had time to download my photos and videos, let alone process and edit them. Here are a few that show the different landscapes long the route. After my return from Liverpool I'll write longer pieces and post more pictures from each section of the route plus post a video or two.

The vast open space of Dava Moor covered in a white swathe of cotton grass.

The Divie Viaduct takes the railway line from Dava Moor into gentler, greener, fields and forestry.

Spring colours in a cutting on the Dava Way. The bright yellow of gorse was the colour of the walk.

One of the first views of Findhorn Bay on the Moray Coast Trail. The walk from the finish of the Dava Way in Forres to Findhorn on roads and roadside footpaths is not recommended!

A pine tree on the edge of sand cliffs above Burghead Bay, Moray Coast Trail. The forests of Scots Pine and Corsican Pine are to stabilise the sand and slow coastal erosion.

Second camp deep in the forest sheltered from the wind. Moray Coast Trail.

Beach, gulls, and Burghead. Moray Coast Trail.

The East Beach, Hopeman, Moray Coast Trail.

Heron on the rocks. I saw more birds on the Moray Coast Trail than on the other two sections.

Gorse corridor, Moray Coast Trail. You can't always see the sea.

Magnificent cliffs between Hopeman and Lossiemouth, my favourite section of the whole walk. Overall the Moray Coast Trail is one I would happily do again.

Some of many sea stacks and caves, Moray Coast Trail.

View from a cave to Covesea Skerries Lighthouse.

Camp with tank traps! These second world war defences would have been on the beach but are now stranded a little way inland. I was in the trees to keep out of the wind again.

The line of tank traps stretches out of the trees and along open ground behind some big shingle banks built by the sea. The tank traps line runs unbroken for 5 miles/8 kilometres.

The collapsed viaduct at Garmouth. The Moray Coast Path crossed this to link up with the Speyside Way. Now you have to road walk to Fochabers to reach the next bridge.

Fourth camp with a view of the river Spey and the now distant sea. Speyside Way.

The magnificent Thomas Telford Bridge at Craigellachie. Speyside Way/

Knockando Distillery. There are many whisky distilleries along the Speyside Way and the smell of malt is often in the air.

Fifth and last camp. Right by the river. The Speyside Way isn't often this close.

A green corridor as the Speyside Way follows the line of an old railway.

Endless gates, endless barbed wire imprisoning corridors. I hated this section of the Speyside Way.

Cromdale Station, the last of many old stations on the Moray Way.

Almost home! The bridge over the river Spey at Cromdale.