A WAY OF LIFE
Long distance walker Bea Jefferson chose to escape city living and relocate to the land she loved, Moray and Speyside
Ihad known beforehand that walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats on my own would test me, that there would be times when weary muscles and sore feet would make me doubt whether I could continue. But as I limped into John O’ Groats, 61 days (1,200 miles) after I had set off, what I hadn’t anticipated was just how much the journey would change me.
I was 49 and had long dreamed about moving to the Moray and Speyside region of Scotland. But what had appeared to be an impossible dream in the past now seemed within my grasp. So in 2015 my partner Ian-Paul and I left Sheffield and headed north with our dog Georgie to begin a new life in Forres, surrounded by the landscape that we loved.
As walking was what had brought me to Scotland, it only seemed right that I immerse myself in that world once I arrived. On our doorstep was the Moray Way, a 95-mile circular walk made up of the Dava Way,
‘The original railway link connecting the Highlands to the south now forms the Dava Way path’
between Forres and Grantown-on-Spey, part of the Speyside Way between Grantown-on-Spey and Garmouth, and a section of the Moray Coastal Trail between Garmouth and Forres.
Echoes of the past can be found in the old fishing communities along the Moray coast. East of Lossiemouth lies the largest shingle bank in the UK, behind which walkers can explore the remains of Second World War coastal defences including fortified pillboxes and lookout posts which, thankfully, were never put to the test.
To the west of Lossiemouth lies the historic Covesea Lighthouse which sits atop striking red sandstone cliffs. The cliffs themselves tell a story, with fossils from a desert landscape that existed around 250 million years ago visible in the exposed rock. Further along the coast lies the settlement of Burghead dating back to Pictish times where visitors can explore an ancient well thought to date from the Dark Ages.
The Dava Way stretch of The Moray Way is also not without history as it follows the original railway link connecting the Highlands to the south. The route passes through Dava Moor offering breathtaking scenery with views north towards Nairn and Moray and south towards the Cairngorms.
The Moray Way also incorporates a section of the Speyside Way, which in its entirety runs f rom Buckie to Aviemore. Whilst passing through Craigellachie, walkers can visit the famous bridge designed by Scottish civil engineer Thomas Telford.
Each of the three sections that make up the Moray Way have distinctive features and diverse terrain and make for an interesting and varied route for those looking to tackle it in full. Unsurprisingly, given the numerous habitats the route passes through, there is also a good chance of spotting some of the area’s abundance of wildlife, which includes dolphins, seal, fulmars, red-throated divers, capercaillie, ospreys, buzzards and pine martens, as well as red and roe deer.
Since arriving in the area two years ago, I have spent as much time as possible exploring the coastal, hill and river valley walks of the Moray Way and in my mind they are unrivalled
‘Echoes of the past can be found in the old fishing communities along the Moray coast’
anywhere in the UK. I am happy to report that we seem to have significantly fewer midges than other parts of Scotland too!
Last year I became Chair of the Moray Way Association and I am also one of the organisers of the Moray Way Walking Festival, which celebrated its fifth year in June. There were over 50 events with activities for all abilities as well as guided walks.
One of the more unusual events found us walking through the night along the disused Granton on Spey-to-Forres railway line by torchlight. Night time is short in the summer months here and so by 3am the sun had begun to rise, bathing the hills in a dusky pink light.
I arrived at the end of the route at 5am to find a hearty breakfast of my favourite veggie sausages waiting for me, carefully cooked by local volunteers.
Since arriving in Forres, Ian-Paul and I have been blown away by the welcome we have received from local people. Moray and Speyside feels, in many ways, like a gathering place for people who, like us, have been drawn by the exceptional landscape and way of life.
A great example of this is the Findhorn Community in Moray. It is 55 years since the community was started with the aim of bringing together people interested in spirituality and sustainability. Today the organisation has a 61-home eco-village with solar panels and wind turbines to generate electricity, organic gardens and an ingenious waste water treatment system that was the first of its kind in Europe.
Ian-Paul and I have just started a holiday rental business, offering self-catering accommodation in a historic building called East Lodge, in Grant Park, Forres.
Many of our visitors are drawn by the exceptional walking to be found in Moray and Speyside, but on their days off I encourage them to experience some of the region’s other attractions. There are numerous distilleries, such as Glenfiddich, Aberlour, Benromach and Glenlivet, and all are worth a visit if you enjoy whisky, or even just want to learn a bit more about it.
We’re not short on castles either. The Duffus ruins are a great place to take the dogs for a walk, and Elgin Cathedral and Spynie Palace are both close by if you want to make a day of it. I can’t think of a better part of the world in which to do that.