Category: Moray Way Artist in Residence

The last section of my walk on the Moray Way was from Calashdhu to Forres. It’s a relatively easy walk through forest, farmland, and town. I walked with some members of the Moray Way Association and the artist Norma Hunter. Norma is the new artist in residence for the Moray Way Association, and it seemed …

My walk began at the Dava junction, where the ward boundaries of Highland and Moray meet. The junction is also where the A940 to Forres begins. I wandered through woodland and was eventually rewarded by the views of the Dava Moor. It is my favourite part of the Dava Way. The landscape is dramatic, with …

I decided to take a slight detour and leave the Dava way and walk down a steep bank to seek out Huntly’s Cave, also known as Lord Huntly’s Cave. The legendary location of the rock face, cave, ravine, and stream was the hiding place of George Gordon. An information board described how he apparently, hid …

My walk on the Dava Way section of the Moray Way began at Seafield Avenue in Grantown-on-Spey. The route is 23 miles and follows the old Highland Railway line to Forres. I followed the road passed the caravan park, where I climbed up the steps onto the railway embankment. The pathway is elevated and gives …

The walk from Cromdale to Grantown-on-Spey is a relatively short walk of 3.5miles. My walk began at the Launderette revolution, a vending machine-style laundromat that provides a 24hr washing service. It seems to be a bizarre beginning to my last journey on the Speyside Way, before joining the Dava. Cromdale got its name because of …

The 10-mile walk from Ballindalloch to Cromdale is not always an easy one. The Speyside way organisation describes this walk as the hardest section of the route. And, I agree, especially as there was heavy rain the day before my walk. The paths had become water-logged, and sometimes a cow encounter can be a wee …

I followed the path surrounded by forest, field, and sky. The walk between Carron to Ballindalloch is approximately six miles. I find walking the route of the Moray Way easy (it stops me from getting lost in infinite space). The pathways ground my footsteps upon the earth. Yet, at the beginning of this walk, my …

Tales o Fowk & Water Beasties is a soundwalk and storytelling event. It shares the myths and legends surrounding the historic town of Charleston of Aberlour. The event invited people to listen to local stories on headsets during a slow-guided walk. The walk followed a circular route that drifted between the Parish Church and the …

If you walk near Aberlour, you can’t miss the dark hills of Ben Rinnes looming in the distance. Everytime, I glanced in its direction, I longed to be standing on the top. Why walk up hills? A question I asked myself when I was at the foot of Ben Rinnes. Surrounded by bright blue skies, …

My next walk began at the old Aberlour railway station, also known as the Speyside Visitors Centre. I wandered past the play park, and on my right, I saw a bathtub in a field. This was my first sighting of many bathtubs that I noticed, on the way to Carron. It’s not an unusual thing to …

The sky was bright, but it was a cold and damp day when I decided to walk the path from Craigellachie to Aberlour. This is an easy walk, around 4-miles there and back (it’s also suitable for bikes as it follows the old railway line). I walked passed the historic Telford Bridge on my right …

Speyside is more than its river valley. It is a community. So, I decided to visit the Speyside Cooperage near Craigellachie, to find out more. It’s a slight detour from the Speyside Way, but it was well worth visiting. I was mesmerised by the cooper’s craft and how fast they work, but I was also …

A good question, but the name Boat o’ Brig is not a contradiction. In the past, there have been a few bridges here. These bridges were destroyed, replaced by boats that ferried travellers between riverbanks, and new bridges were re-built. There are two bridges at Boat o’ Brig, a road bridge and a railway bridge …

Our walk began at Inchberry (Orton), and I had a friend’s company who kindly offered to be my guide. (Thank you!) This walk is a slight detour from the Moray Way, but I was curious to see the River Spey from the other side. It was bitterly cold as we walked past glamping pods at …

I walked through the busy little village of Fochabers, following the signs for the Speyside Way. As I navigate through Fochaberian residential areas, I seem to have moved away from the east side of the riverbank, but all the signs suggest that I’m on the right path. This gave me time to think about walking, …

I saw many cyclists on my last visit to the Garmouth Viaduct, so I decided to cycle from Spey bay to Fochabers. My journey began at the Speyside Dolphin Centre, where I noticed the layers between land and sea. An in-between space of shingle, grass, and marsh. As an artist, my experience of place is …

My first encounter with the River Spey was at the Spey Viaduct (also known as the Garmouth Viaduct). I was surprised to see lots of walkers, dogs and even cyclists use the bridge. I listened to the water flow, and it seemed unusually fast for a river that was about to join the sea. (Later …

It was an early start to my walk, as I wanted to cross onto Lossiemouth’s east beach at low tide and walk along the coast towards Garmouth. I walked down to the old bridge at Seatown as I had seen people crossing there before and assumed it was not that deep. I rolled up my trousers …

Every town has its unique acoustic environment and this sound changes depending on the time of day. During the summer, I spent some time recording the sound of Lossiemouth. The recordings were collected during the long summer days and seemed to capture the post-pandemic phenomena of the staycation. The town was busy with a mix …