The Speyside Way. Alan Castle
Fort Augustus > Loch Spey > Laggan > Glen Banchor > Newtonmore > Aviemore > Buckie = 126 miles
Suggested Day Walks
The Speyside Way and the other trails are not the sole preserve of the long distance walker, and not everyone will have the ambition to walk every foot of the Way. For walkers living or staying in the area, who can travel to the routes either by car or by public transport, the Speyside Way and the other trails may be used for just part of a day walk or longer expedition across the region. Simply walk the stages in any order as takes your fancy or is most convenient, until all the route has been covered. There are three main variations of the ‘day walks method’ – use just one or a mixture of all three.
1 Walk one section at a time in a ‘there and back’ manner. Drive or take public transport to the start of the trail. Walk along the Way to a village, town or point on a road where a car can be safely and responsibly parked, or public transport taken at a later date. Walk back along the trail to your starting point. On your second visit drive or take public transport to the point you reached at the end of the first day of the trail. Repeat this technique for as long as it takes to walk the whole of the Speyside Way or one of the other routes.
2 Plan to walk sections of the route with friends taking two cars. Park one car at the end of the section you intend to walk, and drive together to the start of your day walk, leaving the second car there. On reaching the end of your walk, drive back to your starting point in the second car. A variation of this is to split the group into two, one parking a car at one end of the section and the other at the other end, and each group walking in opposite directions. Swap car keys on meeting halfway through your day. This can only go wrong if one or both groups stray from the line of the Way! Bear in mind that reception for mobile phones can be unreliable in some of the areas through which these trails pass. A safer option is for each driver to carry keys for the other car.
3 Use the Speyside Way or other trail as part of a large number of circular walks. Continue these, ‘filling in the blanks’ in the Way until eventually an entire trail has been covered.
Railway station in Aviemore (Speyside Way)
Mountain Biking and Horse Riding
This book is primarily intended as a guide for walkers, but many sections of these three trails are also suitable for cyclists. Gradients are generally gentle ones, with no long strenuous stages. Mountain bikes or at least ‘on-road/off-road’ hybrids are recommended, and road bikes with thin tyres are not advised. The Dava Way, which follows the course of an old railway line for most of its 25 miles, is the most suitable of the three routes for cycling and makes an ideal day out for cyclists; fit riders could even ride from Grantown to Forres and back in one day. There are few hazards other than the sharp needles from gorse and hawthorn bushes that line several sections of the trails, which are ideal for acquiring punctures (the author writes from experience!). Cyclists must take special care when close to pedestrians – always be considerate and give way to them.
Horse riders are welcomed on some sections of the Speyside Way, notably the railway line between Ballindalloch station and Aberlour (contact the Moray Council Ranger Service for the current situation, see Appendix B). The Dava Way railway line is also suitable for horse riders and is described in a leaflet entitled ‘Horse Riding Routes in Moray’, produced by the Moray Equestrian Access Group and available at local tourist offices.
The most suitable and appropriate areas for cycling or mountain biking on the three official trails are as follows:
| Speyside Way | Aviemore to Boat of Garten |
| Ballindalloch to Fochabers | |
| Do not cycle on the sections between Cromdale and Ballindalloch or on the Tomintoul Spur.* | |
| Dava Way | The whole of the trail between Grantown and Forres, although in some small areas cyclists must avoid paths designated only for walkers; alternative trails suitable for cyclists and mountain bikers are signposted. |
| Moray Coast Trail | Forres to Findhorn |
| Portgordon to Portessie | |
| Findochty to Portknockie |
* Cyclists who want to cycle a modified Speyside Way from Aviemore to Buckie can do so by linking the rideable sections of the official Way with a number of public roads, most of which carry only light traffic: the B970 between Boat of Garten, Nethy Bridge and Grantown, the B9102 followed by a minor road to Cromdale, another minor road via Wester and Easter Rynaballoch to Millton and the Mains of Dalvey, the A95 (take care) and the B9137 to Ballindalloch station, the B9104 from Fochabers to Spey Bay and a minor road via Nether Dallachy to Portgordon. Cyclists starting at Tomintoul can make use of either the B9008 via Tomnavoulin or the B9136 down Glen Avon, which meets with the B9008 about 3½ miles before the latter reaches the A95 near the Bridge of Avon, and hence to Ballindalloch and the railway line heading north along the Spey valley.
Getting There
Aviemore, Newtonmore and Kingussie can be reached easily by train, using either the direct service from Glasgow and Inverness or that from Edinburgh (change at Perth). Apart from the five or so Glasgow trains a day, there is also the daily overnight sleeper direct from London.
Fort William, Spean Bridge and Roybridge are all on the Glasgow to Mallaig line, which has about four trains a day. From Edinburgh there is only one direct slow train a day.
Forres and Elgin can be reached by train from Edinburgh via Inverness. These stations are both on the Inverness to Aberdeen line.
There are also direct coaches (Citylink) from both Glasgow and Edinburgh to Newtonmore, Kingussie and Aviemore en route to Inverness. Grantown-on-Spey can be reached by a frequent local bus service from either Aviemore or Inverness, or alternatively the Strathspey Steam Railway can be used from Aviemore to Boat of Garten and on to Broomhill, where a bus connects to Grantown-on-Spey. Citylink also operates the services from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Fort William, from where the Fort William to Inverness service, which stops at Spean Bridge and Fort Augustus, can be taken.
Dufftown can be reached from Forres on the very frequent Whisky Trail bus service operated by Stagecoach Bluebird, which travels through Findhorn, Craigellachie and Aberlour.
Reaching Tomintoul by public transport is more difficult. There is a once-a-day, school days only bus service from Aberlour, and a service three times a week from Dufftown. When funding is available, a Heather Hooper bus service is operated daily in the tourist season between Newtonmore and Ballater.
The frequent bus service between Inverness and Aberdeen stops at Cullen, Buckie and Elgin. From Elgin, a bus or train can be used to return to Aviemore.
Many of the transport providers have websites (see Appendix B).
If a car is used for reaching the area then arrangements for safe parking will have to be made for the duration of the walk. One option is to ask the proprietors of your B&B or hotel at the start of the walk whether it is possible to park there (it would be polite to offer to stay there for a second night before picking up your car for the drive home). Two cars are useful for small groups planning to walk the trails as a series of day walks (see ‘Suggested Day Walks’ above).
Public Transport
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