3 nights short break available at kestrel cabin commencing Wednesday 30th September.
Springburn cabins have only 3 nights available for the month of October. Book now and enjoy a peaceful Autumn break away from it all in the countryside.
Dogs most welcome at no extra cost.
September dates available in Buzzard due to a cancellation.
5- 19 September.
We are sorry that our guests who have been coming to Springburn cabins for the last 28 years will be unable to holiday with us this year but we are delighted that they have rescheduled to September 2021.
Buzzard cabin
11- 18 July 22 – 29 August £645 per week
29 August – 5 September £595 per week
Kestrel Cabin
22nd – 29th August £645
29 August- 5 September £595
Osprey Lodge
11- 25 July £595 per week
22 – 29 August £595
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 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.
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.
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!.
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.
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.
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
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?
It’s a beach, but certainly not sandy. The Spey empties here as you would imagine, and it’s a haven for birdlife and the headquarters for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, where they record sightings almost daily of dolphins, 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
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.
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.
14th- 18th April. 25th April – 1st May
18th April – 1St May
11th April – 24th April
Spring is in the air, or just around the corner, and it’s perhaps one of Scotland’s best-kept secrets that it’s actually the best time of year to visit.
And Moray in particular has a springtime beauty that is hard to find anywhere else in Scotland. People don’t call it the ‘Riviera of Scotland’ for nothing.
There are literally miles of sandy beaches, recognised as amongst the best in the world, and they are deserted. The sands are clean and almost white in many cases, but whether you’re going for a stroll, walking your dog, or just soaking up the sun, it’s a really special place.
Spring is known for the emergence of new life, both in plants and animals. But also, this area has a very special quality about it in the months of April and May.
There’s a crispness in the air, clear skies that are a vivid blue from one horizon to the other. Of course, there is always a chance of April showers, but that just makes the colours pop and you’re suddenly surrounded with a verdant and vibrant landscape.
Temperatures start to increase in March and by April, you can have a fair run of balmy days that could put summer to shame.
Technically the high season months of June and July, are slightly warmer, but they’re not the driest. You’ll almost certainly get less rain in April and May than June, July or August.
We’ve had customers stay in Spring who have enjoyed the nicest weather of the year. And once they’ve sampled it, they come back year after year.
A Visit Scotland blogger wrote: “When spring rolls into Scotland, the season beats the winter blues and brings something magical to our lives. Green spaces are suddenly blazing with colourful flowers and trees in bloom, the hills and mountains look stunningly beautiful and sounds of wildlife start to fill the air again. Close your eyes and you can almost smell the fresh spring air…”
Read the whole article and see some of the pictures: Stunning photos which prove that Scotland is staggeringly beautiful in Spring
By April, temperatures are starting to rise, but it’s the clear still air that makes Spring so gorgeous. The cold bite of winter has gone. New life is bursting through and, this is the best bit. It’s actually quiet. Coming north at this time of year means quite often, you’ll have the place to yourself.
Our cabins are spaced comfortably apart, but even out on the beaches, the roads and the hills are not packed with people at this time of year, that’s why it’s one our best-kept secrets.
It’s also cheaper to stay, which is an added bonus!
Snow on the high mountains of the Highlands and the Cairngorms adds a touch of beauty too. Photographers will be grateful for the lack of haze, which often spoils many summer-time photos.
Kids love seeing the playful new-born lambs leaping into the air like acrobats, but let’s face it, the adults love them too. Cars are often queued up on the roadside to get pictures of the fluffy white creatures.
The hairy Highland cows are a big attraction as well. They’re gorgeous and they know it. They’ll even come right up the fence for you get a selfie for your Instagram. But watch those horns!
But for the wildlife enthusiast, there’s a lot more to see if you dig deeper. Moray is a haven for birds, particularly birds of prey such as Golden Eagle, Osprey and Buzzard. We’ve got the RSPB Osprey centre not too far away. They arrive back from Africa in late March and April, so it’s the perfect time to see them settle down in their native land.
This ‘Riviera of Scotland’ is also known as the Laich o’ Moray, an area of low-lying land that stretches from Fochabers in the east to Brodie in the west.
It’s a coastal plain that provides wonderful views from the higher hills and mountains that skirt it. How lucky we are to have such a mix of terrain in one small county. But take a look at the weather forecast, there’s a high chance that winds, rain and cloud seem to skip our area. It’s not the Caribbean all the time, but it does seem to get favoured by the weather gods!
Spring-time is also when any of the businesses that close for the winter start to open their doors. It’s becoming more popular to stay open all year round, but there’s something very fresh about visiting locals as they embark on a new season. They’re full of the joys of Spring themselves and meeting visitors is what makes them tick.
Easter or just before is when any seasonal businesses open up, and of course it’s a great opportunity to put on family activities. Egg hunts are a favourite, and you don’t have to have children to enjoy a treasure hunt!
Whisky tasting is a popular activity for the grown-ups and with more distilleries in this part of the world than any other, you’ll be an expert by the time you’ve visited them all. But tasting it is only part of the fun. Not far away from here you can watch the traditional craft of barrel-making at Speyside Cooperage.
Saving the best till last, April is midge-free. Can you believe it? Now that is a secret to keep to yourself, because once people latch onto this, April will be the new ‘high season’.
It’s just not their time of year, it’s as simple as that. They start hatching in May, and they start to drop off in September. It’s maybe why the air is so clear in Spring!
So that’s Spring all summed up and what’s not to like? It really is the best time of year to come to Scotland, and Moray has that extra advantage of having its own micro-climate, but just remember, it’s a secret, we don’t want everyone to know.
This bright and cosy lodge has french windows which open onto a veranda looking west towards Pluscarden Glen (Home of the famous Pluscarden Abbey). Ospreys have been nearby.
Kestrel nestles on the edge of a five-acre natural woodland. Many species of wildlife can be observed from this peaceful setting. The cabin has panoramic views facing south from the french windows.
A private track follows a small burn through a wooded glade up the hill to the Buzzard cabin. This cabin is situated on an elevated site and shares the open woodland with deer and badgers.