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Moray is blessed with wonderful walking terrain. Whether you like a rugged hill walk or a simple stroll, there’s lots of ground to cover and some beautiful views to take in.

Walking is one of the easiest ways to get your daily exercise, and for visitors, it’s a way to explore, and take the slow road through Moray Speyside

The Moray Way

The Moray Way is a 100-mile circuit that takes in a vast area allowing you see all aspects of the countryside from hills, riversides, beaches and coastline, as well as visiting a few towns along the way.

Now, unless you are fundraising, you’re unlikely to be doing the whole walk in one go. It’s not walk you can finish in a day, but best to be used as a path in and around an area of interest.

For example if you are staying at Springburn Cabins, you’re bang in the middle of the circuit and spoilt for choice as to where to start. You could join it at Rothes, Lossiemouth, Fochabers, Garmouth, Forres, Findhorn, Hopeman, etc.

It’s actually made up of three separate walks, but as they converge, one circular route is created, encompassing the best walking routes Moray has to offer.

Because it’s made up of separate routes, you can be sure of diversity too. The Speyside Way which forms the Garmouth to Grantown section follows the River Spey and Spey Valley. The Dava Way takes you from Grantown to Forres and then the Moray Coastal Trail connects Forres to Garmouth along the the Moray Firth.

Let’s explore each in a little more detail.

The Speyside Way

The Spey holds a fascination for so many. It’s a powerful river with a sweeping valley that cuts through Moray from its Western boundary and empties into the sea at Garmouth.

It dominates the area so much that the region is often referred to as Moray Speyside. It also gives its name to the type of whisky distilled here.

Speyside whisky is famous throughout the world, and much of the notable flavours can be attributed to the tributaries of the Spey.

For fishermen too, the Spey is a destination in a class of its own. It even has a technique named after it, Speycasting.

Much of the Speyside Way clings to the riverbank, and you can’t ignore its majesty. It’s a wide river in comparison with its neigbhours, the Lossie and Findhorn, and it is the fastest-flowing in Scotland.

Whichever direction you go, it weaves through the towns of the Spey Valley from Garmouth to Fochabers, past Rothes, through Craigellachie, Ballindalloch and Cromdale before the path turns away from it in Grantown to join the Dava Way.

It passes some notable bridges along the way. At Craigellachie and Grantown are two fine, preserved example of iron bridges that have become tourist attractions in themselves. They’ve long been bypassed by concrete alternatives, which ironically makes them easier to enjoy from the road, and on foot, given the absence of traffic.

Dava Way

The Dava Way is so called as it wends its way over the Dava Moor between Grantown and Forres. Unlike the Speyside Way, which is punctuated with towns, this 22-mile pathway is remote and largely uninhabited.

It follows the route of the old railway between the two towns, closed in the 60s and now one of Scotland’s great walks. It is maintained by a volunteer group who make continuous improvements.

It is full of history, intrigue and even ghosts!

Moray Coast Trail

The Moray Coast Trail runs from Forres to Buckie, so only about two-thirds of it falls within the Moray Way, however you won’t be disappointed in this section. Stunning beaches, with long, unbroken strips of white sand, coastal towns, full of tightly-packed houses designed for fishing families and quaint harbours that once bustled with boats, are all features of this walk.

Moray Ways

Whether by design or accident, these three walks join to make a 100-mile route around the edge of Moray, but yet it they allow you to go deep into the heart of what makes this area tick. From the historical aspect of the old railway which connected the Moray Coast to the Central Belt, and the repurposing of it as a haven of nature and diversity.

To the wondrous vitality of the River Spey, its fishermen, and the Speyside distilleries that form the most highly concentrated whisky production areas in the world.

To the magic of the world-class Moray beaches, described by National Geographic as one of the top coastlines on the planet.

You simply cannot just come to Moray and stay in your car, Nice though it is to drive around, you’ll be missing a whole new world of adventure.

And we’re right in the middle of it!

Get more information from The Moray Ways website

The 2020 pandemic has brought many changes to the accommodation industry and we’ve adapted to them to help keep you as safe as possible during your stay.

But one thing that’s always been a feature at Springburn is our isolation. We’re not the remotest part of the UK by any means, in fact we’re quite close to amenities, but people who come back year after year, have told how much they appreciate the solitude and separation offered by our log cabins.

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Sixty acres

At Springburn, we have a very sprawling 60 acres of land and our three cabins are spread out to keep them socially distanced from each other.

Many log cabins that are built to offer self-catering accommodation are packed into a tiny bit of land and all grouped together, but not here. The full spread of natural farm and woodland is just as nature intended. Tracks are built around our hillocks and dykes, not bulldozed through them for easy access. Natural woodland forms a sound barrier, and emphasises further that feeling that you’ve got the place to yourself.

You can stand outside and soak up the silence, at night you can look up and see the stars, and on a clear night, even the Milky Way.

We’re here, on-site, and you can contact us as much as you want, but your stay is your me-time so we leave it that way.

The cabins are third of a mile apart and secluded from each other. Our premium cabin Osprey sits high on an elevated bit of our land and gives magnificent views over the trees and down the Pluscarden Glen – a beautiful part of Moray.

Animals for neighbours

Each cabin has its own parking area for more than one car if necessary, and the track is quiet and private. We’re situated off the public road, so you’re more likely to see deer, pine martens, squirrels and birds, than people.

Which leads us on to the next benefit of being so isolated. It’s a natural haven for wildlife. Even if that’s not your thing, it makes for a wonderfully calming vacation when the only locals you’ll see from your cabin are the wildlife that have made Springburn their permanent home.

And if you’re planning to stay isolated, we’ve made a mile of woodland pathways through Springburn so you can soak up the local flora and fauna right from your cabin doorstep.

Yet not so far from civilisation

And yet with all this talk of isolation, we are just four miles from Elgin, the largest town in Moray; 10 miles from the fantastic beaches of the Moray Coast, which are perfect for dolphin-watching.

We’re also only 40 miles from the Cairngorms, the largest National Park in the UK; 16 miles in another direction to the River Spey, for world-class fly fishing. And only 35 miles from Inverness and its nearby airport.

It’s the perfect location. We’ve lived at Springburn for more than 40 years, and we’ve made t our home. Some of our guests have been coming back year after year, because it just hits the right balance of being far enough away from the rat race, but close enough to a wide range of things to see and do.

We think you’ll love it.

You’d be forgiven for thinking you have to go to Florida to see dolphins, or at least venture out in a boat with a seafarer.

But you can stand on almost any of the beaches here in Moray and witness the beautiful mammals swimming, leaping and feeding just feet from the shore.

It’s an amazing sight, and although some places are better than others, witnessing the dolphins in the Moray Firth is an experience you’ll never forget.

And they’re not visiting… the Moray Firth is the permanent home to the most northern colony of bottle-nose dolphins in the world.

There are about 110 dolphins in the Moray Firth ‘community’ and as you can imagine, they’re a favourite amongst locals and tourists.

The best places to see them vary but there are a few ‘hotspots’ where you are almost certain to see them if you stay long enough.

Spey Bay

Here you’ll find the Scottish Dolphin Centre. It’s a haven for wildlife and a great place to see dolphins and whales. Staff at the WDCS record all sightings on a whiteboard, and on any given day you can see just what has been seen, not just dolphins, but any wildlife.

The centre is built around the Tugnet Ice house, which is a visitor attraction in its own right.

The ice house was built to store ice for packing salmon from the Spey fishery before it was sent to market. In its heyday, nets would be stretched across the mouth of the River Spey.

The current structure which is a distinctive three-hump roof covered in grass was still in use up to 1968. It was built in 1830. It replaced a former icehouse which had been damaged by flooding and is the largest surviving ice house in the UK.

The centre itself is ideal for nature lovers, families or anyone just looking for a day out with some education, fun and excitement thrown in.

Walks and tours are conducted by professional guides who will show you the best ways to sight dolphins and whales. Inside the centre, there’s a cafe, shop and education suite.

Burghead

The raised promontory at Burghead is a superb spotting place. Here you can see quite far out into the firth, and while you won’t get close-ups, just seeing them breach out of the water is a rewarding sight.

Boat trips

One of the best ways to see dolphins, and indeed whales and other marine wildlife is from a boat.

These can be arranged from through North 58º Sea Adventures in Findhorn and Lossiemouth, or Phoenix Sea Adventures in Nairn. All tours are operated by the same company, and they have a vast experience of taking people out on wildlife tours.

There’s also plenty of other wildlife to be seen including birds and porpoise. These boats travel along the coastline where there is no human habitation and very little disturbance.

Why are the dolphins here?

Dolphins aren’t just confined to warmer climates such as Florida or the Caribbean.

These creatures can live in the oceans anywhere in the world, with the exception of the Arctic and Antarctic. We are lucky to have a resident collection of bottle-nose dolphins in the Moray Firth and these are the farthest north in the UK. We are also very lucky to have them so easily visible from the shore.

Chanonry Point

The Moray coastline is a superb viewing platform, but perhaps the best place other than a boat is from Chanonry Point across the firth near Rosemarkie. Here the land spits out from the north and south creating a watery chicane between the sandy beach and Fort George on the south shore, another good spot to see due to its elevation.

At Chanonry Point, seasoned spotters gather daily in what has become called ‘the village’ and it is frequented by photographers with long lenses getting close-ups of the dolphins when they can.

However, the truth is, you don’t always need a telephoto, they are literally metres from the shore here. And even if you don’t have a camera at all, the sighting of dolphins in the north of Scotland must go down as one of the best memories to take home with you.

Links

• Moray Dolphins
• Scottish Dolphin Centre
• North 58º Sea Adventures and Phoenix Nairn

Moray’s shoreline from Culbin Forest in the west to Cullen in the east, is one long string of unbroken beaches. There’s a few rocky outcrops punctuating it, but that only adds to the beauty, and markes the end of one beach and the start of another.

All the beaches here are less than 40 minutes’ drive from Springburn Cabins and can be done in a circular route

Culbin

Culbin Sands was once the largest dune system in the UK, so it’s a good place to start a list about beaches. A large-scale operation to control the dunes in the early 1920s was undertaken by the Foretsry Commission which planted thousands of acres of trees. As a result, what was largely known as Culbin Sands is now Culbin Forest.

However, from the waterline out, you’ll find one of the most stunning beaches, from a geographical, botanical and etheral point of view.

Geographically, Culbin Sands is made up of a beach and a ‘bar’ – a shingle ridge running a whopping 7km parallel to the shore. Both are owned by the RSPB because of the important birdlife it contains, and it’s been designated as a nature reserve and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) .

Historically, hundreds of years before that, a storm is said to have engulfed a village in sand, to the point that all those living there were forced to flee the village and it’s still buried beneath the dunes today.

You can’t get onto the beach without going through the forest, and it’s not a large flat beach like many of the others in Moray. The Culbin Forest has become a wildlife habitat in its own right, and if that’s your interest, then you will be well rewarded. In fact, you may never reach the beach!

Anyone who’s walked through Forestry Commission land will know the pathways are plentiful, and it’s no different here. There are many way-marked paths but equally there are a lot of functional tracks that need some level of navigation to get around.

The forest is very popular with walkers and cyclists in its own right, and while the beach is why it’s all there in the first place, it’s fair to say that most people go to visit the woodlands.

There are several graded walks that take you to various landmarks, such as Hill 99, the Gravel Pit and some which are just circular routes. There’s certainly no shortage of things to do.

You can read more about Culbin Sands and Bar IPA or its history.

Findhorn Bay and Beach

Heading east, the Culbin Sands come to a natural stop where the Findhorn River empties into the sea. The large tidal basin forms the boundary of the Culbin Forest, but the dunes continue on the other side of Findhorn Bay.

Here, they have not been tamed by forestry, and while the dunes are largely shingle and unattractive, the beach and bay are staggering beautiful by comparison.

The bay almost completely empties at low tide, and while it possible to walk on some of the flats, the many tributaries make it difficult. It’s perfectly place for cathing the light and the small boats floating around the village often make it a photographers’ paradise.

Around the corner is the beach proper, and a proper beach it is too. Flat sands stretching out for miles, in a seemingly endless curve that skirts another forest, Rosisle and rounds nicely into Burghead.

Locals make a bee-line for this beach in Spring and Summer, but you’ll never see it crowded.

Roseisle

The beach here is really an extension from Findhorn. There is nothing to mark one changing into the other except the presence of another woodland.

It’s a beautiful, sweeping flat sand with a high ridge bordered by trees. Like Culbin, the forest area has been diversified to attract families and adventurers. There’s a toilet block, barbecues, play equipment, but the beach is so close, you can’t visit one without the other.

It’s Forrestry Commission land, so well catered for in paths and signage, and there’s something history to be found, along the coast, such as the ice house, but the most interest part of Roseisle history is the military defence that streches from Findhorn Bay to Cullen.

Made up of concrete cubes, to prevent tanks taking advantages of a beach landing, they line the shore like a string of pearls. Here at Roseisle, they have been sitting undisturbed for more than 75 years, although they have sunk into the sand a little!.

Burghead

Again, the beach at Burghead is a continuation of the curve from Findhorn, though Roseisle, but it has it’s own car park and access.

Hopeman

At Hopemen, we are treated to two beaches, east and west, separated by a small harbour. Both are a good size, flat with soft white sand. At both ends, the beaches are bound by rocky outcrops which makes them perfect for rockpools.

The east beach is notable for its colourful sting of beach huts. Fourty-four in total and each one uniquely and colourfully decorated. They’re often handed down from generation to generation and there’s a waiting list with more people on it than there are huts.

Covesea

Tucked away between a golf course and a lighthouse is Covesea beach. Depending on which way you approach it, it’s a winding drive down a grassy track. The golf course here is one of Moray’s hidden gems, perhaps because it is perched on the edge of the sea, with golden sands below. The sand has more orange in it here, due to the sandstone, and if you do tear yourself away from the golf course, you can walk along the beach in the shadow of the Covsea lighthouse towering above.

Perhaps the most interesting part about this beach are the caves in the cliffs beliw the kighthouse where apparently people lived right up the 1950s.

Lossiemo

Lossiemouth east and west

Once again, we have a choice of two beaches, and once again, they are split by a harbour. Lossiemouth’s west beach is accessible from Covesea, or from the car park at Moray Golf Club.

The east beach is absolutely stunning, particularly when viewed from the elevated crag of Prospect Terrace. The river Lossie meanders parallel to the dunes creating a mini-peninsula.

Lossiemouth gets the full force of the north sea and it’s often favoured by surfers due to the high waves that eventually coming crashing in to the shore.

This beach has charcter by the bucketload. The dune ridge is said to be made or railway carriages, put there many decades ago to stop the sandhills from wasting away. However,m if you compare old photos of the beach with new, they crumbling rapidly.

There’s also a fence deep;y embedded into the beach which serves no purpose, but makes a photogenci backdrop against the dunes.

The beach is access by a narrow metal bridge, but unfortunately, it has beem closed until a new one is built. There is a long way round, and if you have time you should take it. I means what’s the hurry?

Spey Bay

It’s a beach, but certainly not sandy. The Spey empties here as you would imagine, and it’s a haven for birdlife and you’ll also find the Scottish Dolphin Centre where you can learn about the Moray Firth Bottle-nose Dolphin colony, and record your sightings of these amazing mammals as well as whales, birds, etc.

The beach is made of of pebbles. It’s not easy to walk on, but’s it’s remarkable bcause of it’s undulating mnature. The Spey has gouged out many channels

Portgordon, Buckie, Findochy, Portknockie

Four former fishing villages that have small beaches within their harbour walls. You woud’nt make a special trip to these for beach, but the harbours are pleasant places to stop. With the exception of Buckie, fishing boats have largely been replaced by pleasure craft.

Cullen

The last stop on our coastal trail, and it’s a stunner. A long, wide stretch of golden sand, with a rock formation known as the ‘Three Kings’ protruding from the beach.

Cullen is an attractive, golden sandy beach to the west of the village of the same name. It overlooks Cullen Bay, which gives the waters here some degree of shelter from the strongest currents, making it a good beach for swimming and snorkelling. 

The legend goes that the quartzite stacks are the gravestones of Norse Kings who died at the Battle of Bauds in 962.

Cullen beach is a popular beach, and another one close to a golf course.

As with many of the beaches along this coastline, dolphins can be spotted from the shore.