Moray has a stunning coastline with something of everything - wide sandy beaches, some dramatic cliffs, coastal formations and attractive fishing villages. As might be expected, it makes for an excellent walking route - the Moray Coastal Trail. Beginning inland at the fine country town of Forres, it soon hits the coastline at Findhorn, famed for its eco-community. From here the coastal walking begins across the forested back of the vast Burghead Bay.
The section from Burghead to Lossiemouth has some superb clifftop walking with great seaviews. Further on is Spey Bay, renowned for its dolphins, the ship-building heritage of Buckie and finally a string of picturesque former fishing villages leads on to Cullen, 74km from the start.
Stage descriptions | Length | Time | Done |
---|---|---|---|
Forres to Burghead | 20.5km | 4-5 hours | |
Burghead to Lossiemouth | 14.5km | 3½-4½ hours | |
Lossiemouth to Buckie | 25.25km | 5-6 hours | |
Buckie to Cullen | 12km | 2½-3 hours |
The Moray Coast Trail connects with the Speyside Way at Spey Bay, and with the Dava Way at Forres; with these two routes it is possible to walk a circuit (known as the 'Moray Way').
The walk in intermittently waymarked and follows paths, tracks and sandy beaches. The walking itself is straighforward throughout.
Click to find organised Moray Coast Trail walking holiday packages and baggage transfer providers
.The Moray Coast Trail offers a range of accommodation throughout its length.
Forres is an attractive stone-built country town with a range of bed and breakfast accommodation and hotels. There is a campsite at Kinloss further along the route, half way to Findhorn. Findhorn also has bed and breakfasts, a hotel and campsites and provides an alternative break of stage. Some walkers choose to start the walk at Findhorn as the route to here from Forres is all along the roadside cyclepath.
After Findhorn, the next stopping point is at Burghead. This is a good sized village with shops and bed and breakfast accommodation. There is also a campsite, which the coastal path actually passes through on the way into the village. Hopeman - a short distance further along the way - provides an alternative stop to Burghead.
Lossiemouth is a small town with a full range of facilities. There are several hotels here as well as bed and breakfasts. Silver Sands Leisure Park at Covesea has facilities for camping.
The next possible stopping point is the tiny village of Spey Bay, where there are two B&Bs and another campsite. Further on is the village of Portgordon - again offering accommodation - before reaching the town of Buckie. Buckie offers a choice of hotels and guest houses, with a campsite at its eastern fringe at Strathlene.
The former fishing villages of Findochty and Portknockie offer opportunities to break the final stage (including campsites), which ends at the very attractive village of Cullen. Again both hotels and bed and breakfasts and a campsite are available. There is also an independent hostel here.
Forres at the start of the route has a rail station, but Cullen at the end has only a bus service. This links to Elgin - the nearest rail station - and continues to Aberdeen.
Along the way, local buses serve all the villages linked by the trail. Findhorn has a bus to Forres, whilst Burghead, Hopeman, Lossiemouth, Spey Bay, Portgordon and Buckie are all served by buses from Elgin.
Timetables for all the routes can be found on Traveline Scotland.
There are 294 Walkhighlanders who have completed the Moray Coastal Trail. To record if you have completed the route, you must register and be logged in. Our users have contributed 12 public walk reports for the route. These are ordered below with the most popular ones first.
Title | Author | Date walked | Likes |
---|---|---|---|
The Moray Coast Trail in a day! | Sprollie Dollies | 23/07/2016 | 12 |
The Moray Coast Trail - Sun, Sand & Seagulls | andrewl7642 | 11/07/2014 | 10 |
The Moray Coast Trail - A Challenge | Gordie12 | 19/06/2021 | 8 |
Moray coast - Bow n fiddle and cullen but no skink - Day 4 | bargee | 29/08/2017 | 6 |
The joys of a low level walk | ActiveLouise | 22/03/2022 | 4 |
Moray Coast Path; - Just keep the Sea on the Left. Day one | bargee | 26/08/2017 | 3 |
Moray Coast Trail Fail | dynamo83 | 18/02/2016 | 3 |
Panther's old stories: Burghead to Findhorn | BlackPanther | 13/03/2011 | 3 |
Portessie to Portknockie - some more Moray :) | BlackPanther | 19/11/2011 | 2 |
Moray Coast way walk | kavi | 11/04/2024 | 1 |
Moray Coast - More sand, spey and tank traps - Day Three | bargee | 28/08/2017 | 1 |
Moray Coast path;- old railway and sand - Day Two | bargee | 27/08/2017 | 1 |
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