Inverness to Elgin to Moray Coast

Sorry I didn’t get this posted yesterday but I kept falling asleep and gave up. I’m sitting here this morning having a cup of tea in bed finishing it and thinking this is the life! 🤣 Everything below is from yesterday. 

This morning we packed up our bags once again but this time there is no courier to pick them up. We went down to breakfast. 

The B&B owner took our photo with the GGW shirts and called a taxi to take us to the train station. While we were waiting on the taxi a man we had been talking to at breakfast said he’d be happy to drop us at the station. He was going right by there. He had the strongest Irish brogue I’ve heard. It was very difficult to understand him, but about that time the taxi showed up. 

We left our luggage at the luggage locker in the train station and walked to the North Sea to officially end our coast to coast walk. 

We dipped our feet into the icy cold water 

Then tossed our pebbles from the Atlantic out to the North Sea. 

It really brings the walk to a close. Finishing is certainly bitter sweet, a combination of 'oh wow we did it' and 'is it over already?'

This clock tower is. now all that remains of Cromwell's Fort in Inverness. Construction of the fort, which became known as the Citadel of Inverness, started in May 1652 and was completed in 1658, the year of Cromwell's death. It occupied the land between the north end of Shore Street and the slaughter house near the river. The fort, which accommodated a garrison of around 1000 men, had five sides and was shaped like a pentagon with ramparts and bastions. It was surrounded by wet ditches on four sides and the River Ness on the fifth.

They are taking all of these logs and…

making wood chips out of them

Burnet rose

Row houses

The train took us quickly to Elgin, our home for the next three nights. The farm land and all the sheep along the way were very picturesque, but the train windows were so dirty, photos weren’t possible. 

We arrived in Elgin and took off to find our B&B. It was about 6/10ths of a mile from the station, uphill and we’re dragging our luggage now.

Duke of Gordon monument

is a commemorative monument on Lady Hill in Elgin, Scotland. Built in honor of George Gordon, the 5th Duke of Gordon, the monument takes the form of a Tuscan column, 80 feet high, and 6 feet 9 inches wide at the base. The column is hollow, with a spiral staircase leading up the shaft which gives access to the top. A spiral staircase in the space of 6’9”? No thank you!!!🙂‍↔️

It was erected in 1839, and a statue of Gordon, sculpted by Thomas Goodwillie, was installed on the top in 1855.

It was only 12 o’clock and check in wasn’t until 4 but we rang the bell anyway hoping we could at least leave our bags. She answered but seemed a bit confused about who we were and why we were there. I think we may have interrupted a nap. However, our room was ready, (on the ground floor, yay!) and we got checked in. I asked about the bus to Burghead because we thought we’d walk a bit of the Moray Coast trail this afternoon. She was showing me where the bus station is and said, you know I take the dog there to walk. I can just take you to Burghead in about 10 minutes if you are ready to go. How blessed we have been! If we had been later she would not even have been home. We had a lovely conversation with her all the way as well and found out that she normally takes him after her lunch but decided since we wanted to go there she would just go earlier. God is so good! These flowers are from her garden. 

Chinese wisteria

Moss phlox

Armeria maritima

Seaweed

And here we are at Burghead 

On the Moray Coast trail, I’m just going to warn you now, there are tons of photos!

Burghead to Lossiemouth, one of the standout sections of the Moray Coast Trail, has a number of lovely beaches, fascinating rock formations, and picturesque sites. Quite near the start of this section, the route passes through the scenic former fishing village of Hopeman, after which there are no more settlements on the trail until Lossiemouth. We happened to time our walk with low tide at Clashach Cove and had the most dramatic views.

Burghead is a quaint and busy harbour. The town is mainly built on a peninsula that projects into the Moray Firth, meaning that most of the town has sea on three sides. I was completely turned around thinking we should be going the other way because the sea was on that side. But it was on the other side too. 

It was once the site of a large Pictish fort which occupied the bulk of the headland. 

The Picts were an ancient Celtic group of people who inhabited northern and eastern Scotland during the Late Iron Age and Early Middle Ages. They are known for their distinctive art, culture, and resistance to Roman and later Anglo-Saxon expansion. The Romans called them "Picti," meaning "painted people," likely referring to their practice of body painting or tattooing.

When we left Burghead the terrain changed, the wide-sweeping sands were replaced with cliffs, coves and caves. We walked along a cliff-top where we could see the swirling sea below.

The coastal route runs along a former railway line to Hopeman, passing under a few stone arched bridges. Thickets of gorse bush line the trail, their yellow flowers providing a vibrant splash of colour.

These poppies are huge!

An interesting tunnel 

Rugosa rose

Yellow bush lupine

Common lilac

Not sure what you are doing but we are sitting on the Moray Coast of Scotland eating the best ice cream and watching the North Sea waves crash upon the shore. 

Beyond the first curved bay was a picturesque row of colorful beach huts, each with their own unique livery and character. Unlike the uniform new-build huts at Findhorn, the Hopeman beach huts have been around for decades and have been passed down through the generations. There was an older man painting a seascape on the back of his and as we walked by he asked if we wanted a job. He said he was going to hire a proper artist to take over because he wasn’t doing such a bang up job. Hmmm. That might be a fun summer job. 

The next village stop is Hopeman, founded at the beginning of the nineteenth century as a fishing port. A harbour was built and it was expanded in 1838 for the export of stone from nearby quarries.

The Red Craig marks the spot where the geological fault lies between Hopeman aeolian sandstone and Burghead fluvial sandstone.

A lookout up on the clif

There were a couple of golf courses along the way. Wow, what a place to play golf!

Putting green on one side, North Sea on the other. 

Pardon my finger in this one 

Beyond the beach huts the route continues around the coast on an undulating trail. We passed some sculpted rock formations, then climbed a little to reach the top of the cliffs overlooking Clashach Cove, hidden away below the golf club.

When the tide is out a spectacular stretch of golden sand is revealed, along with a natural rock arch on the western side of the cove. A cave and second rock arch/tunnel are situated on the eastern side of the bay. You can walk through the natural tunnel to a rocky beach on the other side, covered in vibrant pebbles and backed by yet more impressive cliffs, carved into dramatic shapes by centuries of wind and sea erosion.

From here the trail runs along the top of the cliffs, passing a quarry, Primrose Bay, a white lookout tower, and a picturesque stack with caves sculpted out of the cliffside behind. 

Fulmar - they aren’t nearly as noisy as seagulls

A cacophony of bird songs accompanied our walk along this section. 

The trail drops back down to a scenic stretch of sandy beach at Covesea, with yet another golf club behind it. We followed a trail slightly above the beach which became treacherous with gorse at times and the undulating became tiresome. We decided we should have walked on the hard packed sand along the beach instead. 

Ahead lies the striking Covesea Lighthouse, a beautiful white and yellow Stevenson number.

We decided to check out some of the caves 

Sky reflected in the rock pools

The trail was so narrow at times that we had to put one foot in front of the other instead of side-by-side line you would normally walk. 

There are remnants of old world war blocks. 

Concrete anti-tank blocks ran the full length of the defenses. They are no longer complete but long sections of the line are still visible on the edge of the forest.

We finally decided to get back down on the beach for the final trek into Lossiemouth. However getting there from the higher trail was a bit comical. We crossed through gorse and reached the edge leading down but it was sand dunes. One step  and the whole thing moved. I’ve never surfed down a dune before but there’s a first time for everything. Had to sit on a rock at the bottom and dump all the sand out of my shoes. 

Lossiemouth - our destination

Awesome piece of driftwood

Pillboxes were another part of the defenses. Two alternating designs, square and hexagonal shaped, zigzagged a line along the coastline. Over twenty of these still remain at Lossie.

Coming up from the beach and headed to the bus stop. 

I’ve never seen sunflower poppies before. These were gorgeous!

I searched for the nearest bus stop at the first sign of Lossiemouth and we headed that way. The directions told us to turn around and go back up the hill for an hour long walk but it was straight in front of us so we kept going straight. As we topped a hill there was a golf course in front of us. I guess that’s why we were supposed to go around. Oh well, we’re here so we walked across after some golfers had hit and made it to the bus stop one minute before the bus arrived. 

When we got off the bus at Elgin, we walked through the main part of town toward our Inn looking for a place to eat. We came across Scribbles which had a wide variety of menu options. 

Kody had roasted vegetable calzone 

I had spicy chicken bits

Stats for our “rest” day 🤣

Steps - 34,998

Miles - 14.8

Elev Gain - 435’

Time - 4 hrs

We were exhausted by the time we got back to the inn and dropped quickly into bed after showers. 

Today at every turn I was reminded of this scripture for Psalm 8

“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”

What a declaration of God’s majesty and how His name is glorious in all the earth. It was so easy to see the contrast in the vastness of His creation and the smallness of humanity yet He cares for all of His creatures. May we join in the worship that all of creation offers to Him!