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THE SPEYSIDE WAY
WITH THE DAVA WAY AND MORAY COAST TRAIL
by
Alan Castle
2 POLICE SQUARE, MILNTHORPE, CUMBRIA LA7 7PY
About the Author
Alan has trekked and cycled in over 30 countries within Europe, Asia, North and South America, Africa and Australasia, and for 17 years led organised walking holidays in several European countries. A member of the British Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild, he has written 18 guidebooks, including the Cicerone guide to the Southern Upland Way. His longer solo walks include a Grand Traverse of the European Alps between Nice and Vienna (1510 miles), the E2 across Europe from Holland to the Mediterranean (1400 miles), the Pilgrim's Trail from Le Puy to Finisterre (960 miles), the Via de la Plata from Seville to Santiago de Compostela (620 miles) and a Coast-to-Coast across the French Pyrenees (540 miles). In Britain he has walked all of the National Trails, as well as many other long distance routes. Alan is also an enthusiastic hillwalker who has climbed many of the British hills, including all of the Munros in Scotland. An erstwhile National Secretary of the Long Distance Walkers Association, Alan lives at the foot of the Moffat Hills, in the heart of the Scottish Southern Uplands.
Other Cicerone guides by the author
The John Muir Trail
The Southern Upland Way
The Robert Louis Stevenson Trail (Cévennes, France)
The Tour of the Queyras (French & Italian Alps)
The Grand Traverse of the Massif Central
Trekking in the Alps
The Kungsleden and Padjelantaleden Trails (Northern Sweden)
© Alan Castle 2016
Second edition 2016
ISBN: 978 1 85284 868 2
First edition 2010
Printed in China on behalf of Latitude Press Ltd
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
All photographs by the author unless otherwise stated.
For Mum Cain
‘My heart’s in the Highlands, wherever I go.’ ‘Freedom and whisky gang thegither!’
Robert Burns (1759–1796)
‘May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.’
Traditional Gaelic blessing
Acknowledgements
My wife, Beryl, has always given freely of her advice, support and encouragement during the planning and writing of my guidebooks. For this book she has also carried out a considerable amount of research, without which it could not have been written, and I am ever grateful. My thanks to Jim Strachan, former Speyside Way Manager, for his help and encouragement and for reading the book proofs. Norman Thomson, Chairman of the Moray Way Association, gave me much information on the Dava Way, Moray Coast Trail and Moray Way. Thanks also to Pete Mitchell and David Binney of the Dava Way Association and to Ian Douglas, Moray Access Manager. Paul Willgoss has also contributed updated trail information. Finally, I thank Jonathan Williams and others at Cicerone Press for their professionalism in publishing this and all my guidebooks.
Updates to this Guide
While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. Any updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk/868/updates), so please check before planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Cicerone, 2 Police Square, Milnthorpe LA7 7PY, United Kingdom.
Front cover: Looking towards the River Spey after passing Balliefurth Farm (Stage 3)
CONTENTS
The Official Trails of Speyside and Moray
