The Moray Coast Path

From Inverness I caught the train to Nairn, to begin walking, having decided that I wasn't going to negotiate the traffic from Inverness.   Nairn was a delightful town, really two towns.  There is the Victorian "hoy poloi" part, set back from the ocean.  Historically this was where the "artisans" lived, and grand houses they were too, on wide, well planned streets.  Then, closer to the sea was the fishing town, with its small houses, and with the essentials such the smoke houses in between.   This part is known as Fishertown.  In this section of the town the narrow roads have no pattern, the cottages are crammed together, and there seems no organisation to their placement.

From Nairn I made my way across to Forres, on a cycle path, ready to start the Moray Coast Path.  However, the forecast for the next day was not promising,  and I made the fortuitous decision to catch the train to Elgin and "rest".  The rain was very heavy all day, and I had several visits from engineers to check if the leaks appearing in the room below were somehow connected to a roof leak above mine.

In the centre of Elgin.  It was 3 kms before I passed the last house on the edge of town!

The next day, though threatening, proved mostly fine as I headed out to the coast, along an old railway line, to the town of Lossiemouth.  This town, like most that I have visited on this section is a fishing town.   This is quite a sizeable town, though not with a huge range of shops, but like many towns, it has a golf course, right on the beach.

Leaving Elgin the church (below) was open, and so I had a sing for the first time.  It had this cute little organ in it.

The path to Lossiemouth followed an old railway line.

Overlooking the golf course at Lossiemouth,  outside my hotel.

Having walked only about 12 kilometres to Lossiemouth, the next day I had a long, fairly hard, day of almost 26 kilometres. The first 12 kms, or thereabouts, were hard because I was walking along a very long straight beach.   Having checked with locals as I was leaving, to ensure I was travelling the right way and that it was safe, I set off walking along the sand.  

Looking back at Lossiemouth

About to start on the beach walk.

After a couple of kilometres I then reached pebbles and walked on a narrow strip of sand between the wall of pebbles (I could just see over it) and the ocean.  Deciding it might be a good idea to be on the other side of the pebbles I made a failed attempt to cross.  Every step I took,  the pebbles and I rolled backwards until I gave up.  Mountain bike tyre tracks were periodically evident and a kilometre or so later I saw where the rider had come down off the bank, and I was able to cross where the pebbles were more firmly packed.  The pebbles were amazing.  I couldn't see the sea from the other side of the bank, but the it is obviously so ferocious at times (it is the North Sea) that there were piles of driftwood washed up and over the bank.

The ocean is the narrow black strip at the top of the pebbles!

Driftwood

Buckie was my destination - a fairly industrial fishing town.  The rain held off most of the day, until the last few kilometres for which I was thankful as the beach would have been horrendous in the rain.

Yet another golf course.

The next day, with rain forecast late morning and only about twelve kilometres to go to Cullen, the end of the Moray Coast Path, I set off early in the hope that I would beat the rain.  The sea was roaring, as was the wind, and with a few shortcuts, I managed to get to my hotel just as the rain started.   The golfers were out in force though.  I think I'd be tempted to play golf on some of the extraordinary golf courses I passed.  Don't know how they play in the wind though.

Leaving Buckie

And, another spectacular golf course

Findochty

Findochty

For the past couple of days I have bumped into three women walking.  They were puzzled as to how they passed me, yet sometime time later I appear in front of them!  They were being blown and battered by the sea, I was up higher, with occasional shelter from the gorse hedges.  I saw the sea from a distance.

Portknockie

I wonder how often the sea invades this course.

Cullen, viewed from the viaduct (below)

And yet another viaduct in the town

The next few days I am off walking paths and following cycling paths.  I combined walking and cycling paths the last few days to shave a kilometre here and there.