Walking and cycling along The Dava Way
Linking Forres in Moray with Grantown-on-Spey in Highland
On this page
Walking the DW | Cycling the DW | Plan a holiday | Morayshire | DW leaflet | Access
The Dava Way is a 23 mile (36 km) trail across the ancient Celtic province of Morayshire linking the historic towns of Forres and Grantown-on-Spey. We think the Dava Way is one of the best walks or cycles in Scotland. It links Strathspey and the Cairngorms National Park with the Moray Coast in North East Scotland. Almost all of the route follows the old Highland Railway line and is off road and safe from traffic. It passes through a pleasing mix of farmland, woodland and moorland as you climb from the Spey Valley to cross Dava Moor before descending to the Moray Firth. As you cross the moor on a clear day you are rewarded with views to the north over the shire counties of Nairn, Inverness, Moray, Ross & Cromarty, and Sutherland whilst to the south the Cromdale Hills and the Cairngorm Mountains dominate the skyline.
The route of the Dava Way will be included on forecoming reprints of the OS Landranger maps 27 & 36. It is shown marked on the OS Explorer maps 419 & 423 which were reprinted in September 2007. Note, the route on the ground now follows the railway line from Cowgreens to Dunphail and not the minor road as marked on the new Explorer maps. (Sorry about this but the agreement to do this missed the printing deadline by a matter of weeks. Such is life!!) Our maps on the Maps pages clearly mark the correct route and these can be downloaded for printing from the Downloads page. The zoomable map of the route on the Sustrans website is also correct with the Dava Way marked in green - go there.
Walking the Dava Way
The surface is varied, mostly firm and good, but it can be wet and rough in places. All of it is fine for walking. At the last count there were 12 opening gates, 2 kissing gates and no stiles.
Fit walkers can complete the route in a day but most will want to break it into 2 or 3 stages as described on The Trail pages. Both maps and descriptions of the route can be downloaded for printing from our Downloads page. There are opportunities for circular walks but none have been marked as yet.
Cycling the Dava Way
The Dava Way is a great off road cycling route, most of it over a firm but rough surface. When cycling the route I allow about 4 hours plus time for a picnic, although it has been done in 2h 45min. This gives a pleasant day's cycling with time to enjoy the varying views unfolding. Keep your eyes open for wildlife, there is plenty for the observant. The route offers variety of scenery and surface. It does not pretend or want to be an extreme challenge, nor is it 'tarmac'. (If you are looking for mountain bike excitement you should go on to visit the Moray Monster Trails between Fochabers and Craigellachie. This is about 20 miles along the Moray coast to the East, on the slopes above the River Spey in Speyside.) The Dava Way trail is used by a local equestrian centre who hope to establish a ride across Scotland. Contact the Moray Equestrian Access Group for more advice.
Use the Dava Way trail for a walking or cycling holiday
The Dava Way trail is a lovely route in its own right but its real strength lies in its links with other walks and cycle routes at either end, and also in the wealth of other outdoor activities available in the area. At Grantown-on-Spey the Dava Way links easily into the Speyside Way. At Forres the Dava Way links into the Moray Coast Trail with its beautiful expanses of sandy bays and rocky cliffs for walkers to explore. Forres is also on the Sustrans National Network. Both routes can take you along the Moray Coast to Spey Bay where you link with the Speyside Way. Why not enjoy a week cycling and/or walking in Morayshire and discover the delights of this area?
Moray, Morayshire or Highland?
Morayshire was one of the seven ancient Celtic provinces in Scotland. It was bounded on the east by the River Spey, extended south to include Grantown-on-Spey with a western boudary simlar to the current Moray boundary. The Dava Way lies entirely within this old province of Morayshire. The present day Moray boundary stops at the north side of the Dava settlement, and the southern section of the route lies within Highland.
Dava Way leaflet
This is a double sided A4 colour leaflet giving a general description of the route, as available in Tourist offices, etc.
Download
Scottish Outdoor Access Code
Enjoy Scotland's outdoors.
Everyone has the right to be on most land and inland water for recreation, education and for going from place to place providing they act responsibly.
These access rights and responsibilities are explained in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
The key things are:
When you're in the outdoors:
- take personal responsibility for your own actions and act safely;
- respect people's privacy and peace of mind;
- help land managers and others to work safely and effectively;
- care for your environment and take your litter home;
- keep your dog under proper control;
- take extra care if you're organising an event or running a business.
If you're managing the outdoors:
- respect access rights;
- act reasonably when asking people to avoid land management operations;
- work with your local authority and other bodies to help integrate access and land management;
- respect rights of way and customary access.
Download
Main points 251kB (colour leaflet)
Full code 356kB (136 pages)
Click on one of the pdf icons above to download the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
Find out more about outdoor access in Scotland by visiting
www.outdooraccess-scotland.com
or phoning your local Scottish Natural Heritage office
