The Speyside Way. Alan Castle
SPEYSIDE WAY
Stage 1 Aviemore to Boat of Garten
Stage 2 Boat of Garten to Nethy Bridge
Stage 3 Nethy Bridge to Grantown-on-Spey
Stage 4 Grantown-on-Spey to Cromdale
Stage 5 Cromdale to Ballindalloch station
Stage 6 Ballindalloch station to Aberlour
Stage 7 Aberlour to Craigellachie
Stage 8 Craigellachie to Fochabers
Stage 9 Fochabers to Spey Bay
Stage 10 Spey Bay to Buckie
TOMINTOUL SPUR
DUFFTOWN LOOP
APPENDIX A Route summary table
APPENDIX D Whisky production and Speyside distilleries
A walker on the Speyside Way passing through Anagach Wood
INTRODUCTION
This guide focuses on the Speyside Way, one of Scotland's official Long Distance Routes, which follows the course of the beautiful River Spey from the edge of the mighty Cairngorm mountains at Aviemore, many miles downstream from its source, to Buckie on the Moray Firth. At only 66 miles in length, the main route of the Speyside Way is feasible for most walkers, even those of modest ability and ambition. But the guide also describes several other trails in Speyside and Moray that can be walked in their own right or linked to the Speyside Way to create longer and very varied routes through some of the region's best countryside. Together, the trails take walkers from the rugged mountain landscape near the source of the Spey to Spey Bay, where the mighty river empties into the ocean, and the guide is unique in describing a route along the Spey from ‘source to sea’.
The source of the Spey lies in the heart of a mountain and moorland wilderness in the huge upland range of the Monadhliath, to the west-south-west of Newtonmore. Wayfarers for centuries have been following routes through the remote upland glens of these mountains and over connecting passes. Although these documented trails, by their very nature and location, are not part of the official Speyside Way, they do allow the experienced modern-day long distance hiker inroads into these hills and to the very source of the Spey itself.
The track winds through desolate Upper Glen Roy (Prologue)
The guide also includes the Dava Way and Moray Coast Trail, so describing all the major and linking long distance routes in this region of Scotland. The three trails are each quite different in character and complement each other well – a valley and riverside walk, a ramble along a famous disused railway line and finally a coastal walk on one of the finest stretches of coast in the UK.
The trails in Speyside and Moray have something for all types of rambler, from the seasoned long distance walker to the day stroller in the countryside, from the complete novice and those of limited walking ability to the experienced hillwalker and fit backpacker. Moreover, cyclists and horse riders can also use many sections of these trails, which provide safe, traffic-free routes. And this guide describes it all!
The Official Trails of Speyside and Moray
| Badenoch Way | Kingussie to Dalraddy | 12½ miles/20km |
| Speyside Way: new route | Kincraig to Aviemore | 6½ miles/10.4km |
| Speyside Way: main route | Aviemore to Buckie | 66 miles/106km |
| Speyside Way: via Tomintoul Spur | Tomintoul to Buckie | 50 miles/80km |
| Dava Way | Grantown-on-Spey to Forres | 25 miles/40km |
| Moray Coast Trail | Forres to Cullen | 47 miles/76km |
| Moray Way | Grantown-on-Spey via Forres, Garmouth and Aberlour, using the DW and sections of the SW and MCT | 95 miles/153km |
The Speyside Way
The Speyside Way is one of the four official Long Distance Routes (LDRs) in Scotland, which are equivalent to the National Trails of England and Wales. Being so designated, it is waymarked throughout its length with a distinctive white Scottish thistle, as are the other three such trails in Scotland – the West Highland Way, Great Glen Way and the Southern Upland Way. Unlike many of the official long distance paths in Britain, the Speyside Way offers relatively easy walking, mainly on well-surfaced and easily graded tracks and paths, with relatively little total ascent and descent.
An official Speyside Way sign
A couple of branch routes of the Speyside Way allow optional starting points for the trail, as well as providing walks of quite a different character to that of the main route along the Spey valley. Hillwalkers will enjoy the Tomintoul Spur, 15 miles on good paths across the hills from the highest village in the Highlands to join the main route of the Speyside Way at Ballindalloch station, a route that also allows a visit to the famous Glenlivet Distillery along the way. Possibly the most well known of all the Speyside distilleries, Glenfiddich, is visited on the Dufftown Loop, a detour of the Speyside Way via Glen Fiddich and the whisky town of Dufftown.
Beautiful landscape, nature and wildlife, history both recent and ancient, and whisky combine to make The Speyside Way such a splendid trail. Speyside is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful areas of Scotland, a diverse landscape of mountain, heath and moorland, mixed deciduous woodland, conifer plantations, wide river valley and rich alluvial farmland. The neighbouring Moray coast, the southern boundary of the Moray Firth, exhibits a variety of coastal landscapes, from wide sandy beaches and extensive sand dunes backed by mixed coastal forest, to sandstone cliffs and dramatic rocky headlands, rock arches and sea stacks.
The meandering River Calder in Glen Banchor, north-west of Newtonmore (Prologue)
It is not surprising, therefore, that the region has a rich and varied wild-life. It is the place to come to see some of Britain's rarest but most endearing creatures, notably otters, pine martens, red squirrels and ospreys.