Tour
Lower Speyside, Scotland
Steep
red-sandstone cliffs sweep down to sheltered sandy coves
and rocky outcrops, where thousands of sea birds flock together.
Scattered farmsteads and fishing villages border the fertile
land by Moray Firth, known as the 'Granary of the North'.
The Spey's soft, peaty waters supply a host of malt whisky
distilleries, and its rocky pools are alive with salmon
and brown trout.
Archiestown
Ladycroft
Agricultural Museum, a mile east of Archiestown, displays
horse-drawn vehicles, distinctive farm tools.
Ardclach
Bell Tower
Two-storey
tower built in 1655. Bell tolls to summon locals to church
and to warn of danger.
Auchindoun
Castle
Fortress
of clan chief 'Edom o Gordon' in 16th century tops ancient
earthworks. Its corner-stones were taken for use in Balvenie
Castle nearby.
Auldearn
Castle
motte of 12th century over-looks scene of 1645 Civil War
skir-mish. Restored dovecote on castle mound provides views
of Black Isle. Remains of medieval Rait Castle stand nearby.
Aultdearg
Earth
Pillars, naturally eroded from red sandstone, stand on steep
hillside near River Spey.
Balvenie
Castle
Dcv
moat surrounds bold, 13th-century castle ruin, noted for
its high stone walls and double iron gates. Triumphant Jacobite
troops returned here in 1689 after the Battle of Killiecrankie.
Brodie
Castle
Family
portraits line walls of battlemented tower house built in
1567. Ornate plaster ceiling of flowers and fruit in dining
room.
Buckie
Fishermen
moor at Cluny to sell their catches. Chapel dedicated to
fishermen who died at sea. Maritime museum illustrates local
fishing industry.
Charlestown
of Aberlour
Old
general store has original shop fittings dating from the
1920s.
Craigellachie
Thomas
Telford's cast-iron bridge of 1815 spans River Spey.
Culbin
Forest
Roe
deer and capercaillie inhabit forest and salt marsh along
coast. Picnic areas near dunes, which cover old village
of Culbin.
Culbin
Sands
Ducks,
geese, terns inhabit shingle bars along coast. Predatory
birds scout acres of salt marsh where waders sift the mud.
Stone-crops and lichens thrive on Nairn Old Bar to the west,
as well as heathers, crowberries and gorse.
Cullen
Resort
village on two levels, divided by disused viaduct. Distant
Sutherland peaks present panorama from Bin Hill. Foot-bridge
leads to golf course and 'Three Kings' rock formations.
Dallas
Set
on River Lossie. US vice-president George Mifflin Dallas,
a descendant of Dallas family which owned the village, gave
his name to the Texas city in 1845.
Dallas
Dhu Distillery
Working
distillery housed in a Victorian building offers guided
tours, videos of whisky making. Impressive shop display
of 200 different whiskies.
Darnaway
Farm Visitor Centre
Old
farm tools contrast with a modern dairy viewed from elevated
walkway. Afternoon trips explore Darnaway forest and castle.
The latter is noted for its magnificent medieval hammer-beam
roof in the hall.
Deskford
Church
Noble
church ruin bears inscription of founder, Alexander Ogilvy
of Deskford, dated 1551.
Drummuir
Castle
Lantern
tower crowns restored castle, built by Duff family in Victorian
era. Guided tours of castle and grounds available.
Dufftown
River
Fiddich and Dullan Water converge here. Town clock tower
houses museum and information centre. Glenfiddich distillery
was founded in 1887.
Duffus
Ruin
of Duffus Castle, rebuilt of stone in 14th century, stands
on a Norman mound. The sounds of modern fighter planes are
heard from RAF Lossiemouth.
Elgin
Settlement
featuring remains of Elgin Cathedral, burned by 'Wolf of
Badenoch' in 1390. Pictish symbols survive on Celtic cross
slab in choir. Old oatmeal mill on River Lossie dates from
13th century.
Findhorn
Third
village of this name; storms buried first one with sand
in 17th century while flooding swamped second in 1701. Sea
birds feed in tidal bay and organic vegetables flourish
at Findhorn Foundation, established 1962.
Findlater
Castle
Steep
path to ruins of cliff-side castle, built by Ogilvy family
in medieval times and inhabited until about 16011. Crescent-shaped
Sunnyside Beach to the west.
Findochty
Village's
lower part envelops sandy cove, from which footpath leads
to Portknockie. Upper part's skyline dominated by church.
Fochabers
Gridiron-pattern
village designed in 18th century. Horse-drawn vehicles,
model engines re-create past at folk museum, housed in old
church.
Fordyce
Castle
of 16th century lies at heart of conservation village. Impressive
canopied tombs housed in small church.
Forres
Ancient
town among hills. Buildings of many periods include 15th-century
market cross and a 19th-century tolbooth. Steep path leads
to battlemented 7Oft Nelson Tower, which provides views
of Moray Firth. Walks south explore riverside and woodland
trails.
Glenfarclas
Distillery
Whisky
distillery supplied by soft, peaty water from Grampian Hills.
Guided tours, exhibitions/displays explain whisky-making
process.
Hopeman
Fishing
village, now water sports and fishing centre. Pleasure boats
moor at harbour, village itself is set on slope away from
sea.
Huntly
Excellent
fishing at this meeting place of the rivers Bugle and Deveron.
A 17th-century heraldic carving stands over the main door
of Huntly Castle, set in lush park-land by Deveron Gorge.
Keith
'Auld
Brig o' Keith' over River lsla, built 1609, links medieval
Old Keith and New Keith (1750) to Fife Keith (1817). Milton
Distillery, now Strathisla, of 1785, is Scot-land's oldest
operating malt whisky distillery.
Kingston
and Garmouth
Local
pine forests supplied timber to these two once-flourishing
sailing-ship building centres on the River Spey in the 18th
and early 19th centuries. Sea birds flock to coastline.
Coastal path by sand and shingle beach leads 7 miles west
to Lossiemouth.
Lossiemouth
Bustling
fishing port, with sandy beaches good for bathing. Fisheries
and Community Museum at harbour includes story of James
Ramsay MacDonald (1886-1937), born here, who became Prime
Minister in 1924. A 4 mile walk inland leads to ruins of
Palace of Spynie, 15th-century fortress of Bishops of Moray.
Good fishing at both riverside and seashore.
Mill
of Towie
Restored
oatmeal mill, built 19th century, stands beside River Isla.
Mortlach
Church
Well-preserved
church stands on an ancient site, founded by St Moluag in
6th century. Pictish stone in the churchyard records Danish
defeat.
Pluscarden
Abbey
Monastic
services still take place in abbey founded in 1230 by Alexander
II. Badly damaged in 14th century and had fallen into ruin
by 1560, but was restored in 1948 by Benedictines.
Portgordon
Restored
Gollachy ice house, relic of salmon industry, and where
fish were once stored, stands on shore of this 18th-century
harbour. Dovecote surviving from now-vanished castle nearby
can be seen from A98.
Portknockie
'Preacher's
Cave' on shore was church in 19th century. Foundations of
7th-century Pictish fort perched on promontory overlooking
harbour. Cliff-top path to west provides views of the Black
Isle.
Randolph's
Leap
River
Findhorn runs through a deep, spectacular sandstone chasm
at Randolph's Leap. Beech, larch and oak shade woodland
paths above gorge. Floodstones are reminders of the storms
of 1829, when waters rose 5Oft.
St
Ninian's Chapel
Restored
18th-century chapel; perhaps oldest post-Reformation Catholic
church still in use.
Speyside
Way
Long-distance
30 mile walk follows fishermen's trails and old railway
south. Ospreys fish in river near Fochabers. A marked and
well-maintained pathway leads to Ballindalloch.
Streens
Stretch
of steeply angled hillsides hold the turbulent waters of
River Findhorn in check, like a bridle on a mettlesome horse
-- Gaelic srian means 'bridle'. Grouse moors overlook
the Tirfogrean Gully, eroded by swirling currents. Scattered
farms are those that survived flooding in 1829.
Sueno's
Stone
Carvings
of warriors and corpses embellish this 23ft monolith east
of Forres. It was carved by the Picts around AD 900. Witches'
Stone a't foot of Cluny Hill nearby marks the place where
women accused of practising witchcraft were put to death.
Whiteash
Hill Wood
Marked
paths, called Winding Walks, span stretch of woodland east
of Fochabers. Hill's summit provides views of Fochabers
and lower Speyside.
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