Findhorn - Day 3

From the site we walked north on the Speyside Way. Most of this section is an old railway track, and we started by crossing the Spey on an old bridge.

We carried on a few miles. At times there were trees fallen across the path from the recent Storm Amy.

There are some picturesque stations still remaining.

The Tamdhu whisky distillery and station are next to the track.

At this point we climbed down to the riverside and sat for our lunch, watching some canoeists set off from the other side.

We carried on a little further to Knockando distillery, then headed back.

We drove home then, arriving about 4pm.

Findhorn - Day 2

We spoke with the water taxi office in the morning but we agreed not to risk going over the bay. Instead we drove off the aire and headed for Roseisle Forest a few miles east along the coast.

There's a huge car park in the middle of the forest next to a café and toilets. We parked there and headed for the beach.

We walked along the beach towards Burghead, passing a lot of WW2 concrete defences on the way.

At a caravan site on the edge of the town we turned into the forest, and started to head back again. It was a good walk, there are loads of different paths going through the forest.

In the afternoon we drove on to Lossiemouth and parked in the East Beach car park. This was a possible overnight stop, but it wasn't very attractive and it was still quite early, so we decided to just go for a walk here and carry on.

We crossed the pedestrian bridge across to the sandy peninsula on the other side of the river, and did a circular walk down one side and up the other.

There are the remains of the old bridge that came down in a storm a few years ago.

We drove on, stopping at Tesco in Elgin on the way. We found a great camping spot at Ballindalloch just next to the River Spey. This is a free spot for a few vans, and has toilets next to it maintained by the local council. It also has a small area for tents, mainly for people walking the Speyside Way.

For dinner later we had chicken and chorizo stuffed pasta with tomato sauce.

Findhorn - Day 1

We left the house in the morning and drove north up the A9, getting diesel at Tesco in Perth on the way. We carried on to Carrbridge where we stopped for a short walk and lunch. Carrbridge has a famous old bridge called the Packhorse Bridge.

We carried on up to Findhorn, where we'd booked in for one night in the CAMpRA aire at the marina. It's £15 per night without electric, and has great a view overlooking Findhorn Bay. It has toilets and shower available.

We went for a walk down the seafront, and called in to the office of the water taxi. We had planned to take the taxi across the bay to Culbin forest tomorrow. However the lady in the office said they couldn't guarantee a return trip, as there was strong wind forecast. We agreed to confirm by phone in the morning.

We then went for a walk across the peninsula then up to the beach for Oscar to get a run about. The weather was very clear but quite cold.

We walked back to the van, then later had pizza for dinner.

Northumberland - Day 3

We left Haggerston Castle in the morning, and drove inland to Heatherslaw. There we set off on a circular walk, between there and the village of Ford. There's a steam railway there, which seemed to be operation today.

The walk took us through farmland to Ford.

Ford is an extremely well-kept village, with neat houses and a castle which is used as an activity centre.

We circled back to Heatherslaw along the bank of the river. We then drove home, arriving late afternoon.

Northumberland - Day 2

We went to Lindisfarne (Holy Island) today. According to the tide timetables, safe passage over the causeway started at 10.45am. However we got there at least 20 minutes before that and it was already clear, and cars were going over it.

You can see the refuge on stilts for any walkers who get caught out by the tide.

Once on the island we parked in the main car park, which is £9 for a day ticket.

Our plan was to walk round the perimeter of the island, but first we went to the large beach at the north side where we could let Oscar have a good run about. On the way we looked at the poles which mark the walking route back to the mainland.

We walked clockwise, past many sandy and rocky bays.

We saw some seals out on the rocks.

We passed a white navigation marker, then stopped for our lunch.

Eventually we got round to Lindisfarne Castle.

From there it was a short walk to the village. There are good views back to the castle, and also the ruined priory. There are archaeological digs going on there.

We had a little wander round the village. It was pretty busy now, with lots of tourist shops, many selling the local mead made by the monks.

We drove back to the site and had showers before dinner, which was spinach and ricotta pasta with arrabbiata sauce.