From Dunphail to Forres - distance 8 miles (13 km)
Route descriptions
Travelling North
Grantown to Dava | Dava to Dunphail | Dunphail to Forres
Travelling South
Forres to Dunphail | Dunphail to Dava | Dava to Grantown
Finding the start and finish
Forres | Grantown-on-Spey
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196kB Starting at Dunphail
Looking towards Logie and
the wooded Findhorn gorge
Join the railway line at Dunphail. Probably the best place to leave your car is in the parking by Edinkillie Hall and telephone box (NJ014482) just south of the turn off to Half Davoch. Go north along the main road for just over 100 yards and turn right along the minor road for about a further 100 yards. Turn right off the road before the bridge over the railway line. This area used to be the sidings for Dunphail station and we hope to use it for parking in the future. Follow the path through the old sidings area to meet the railway line about 100 yards ahead. The route from Grantown comes in from the woods opposite having taken a short detour around the old station and platform, now private property.
Lush farmland at Logie as
you approach Cowgreens
To reach Forres you turn left and follow the line north under the road bridge and on to the lush farmland of Logie. The initial cutting has recently been 'drained' - boots still advised. After about 1 mile (1½ km) you pass under Peathillock bridge which still has some deep puddles. Ahead, on your left, is the spectacular wooded gorge of the River Findhorn. The Sluie Walks and Randolph's Leap both provide easy access points to Scotland's finest river. There is also Logie Steading, a small collection of art, book and craft businesses with an excellent cafe Treats at Logie. To access the Steadings turn left and follow the track through the farmyard (take care) to the main Grantown road. Cross over, go through the East Lodge gate and follow the track down to the Steadings, visible below left. Otherwise go straight ahead. Entering Cowgreens Wood you soon cross over a burn. It is startling to realise that this wee thing, in 1997, washed away a whole section of embankment nearby which we had to rebuild.
The new bridge being positioned
across the Altyre Burn
Crossing the Half Davoch road you soon enter a cutting. Continue straight on when the forest track curves off to the right. Ahead you cross the Altyre Burn. The bridge across the burn was originally made of iron and was removed when the line was closed. The flow of water in the burn varies considerably and is often impossible to cross without the risk of a swim. For several years crossing this burn seemed an almost insurmountable barrier. In 2004 the local engineering firm AJ Engineering, in Forres, generously designed built and installed the present structure.
A family outing
along the Dava Way
The bridging of this burn was, in a symbolic and practical way, the start of the transformation of the idea of re-opening the old railway line from a hope into reality. We follow alongside the burn for a short distance until we reach the Scurrypool Bridge. Railway engineers built many beautiful stone bridges, and this bridge hidden behind the the trees in the middle of nowhere is included in that number. Shortly beyond at the Squirrel Neuk bridge steps to the left take you away from the railway line. Ahead is a deep cutting where the line is badly flooded and we take an easier and more pleasant option through the woods.
Runners competing in the
opening race from Grantown to Forres
Cross the bridge, turn left and go up the track. To mark the official opening of the Dava Way on September 18th 2006 a race was held from Grantown to Forres, a marathon distance. As you go up this incline imagine the hurt in the legs of the runners who by now had covered 20 miles. At the top follow the way markers and bear left going gently down hill. Don’t relax too much as you shortly turn off to the left onto a path through the woods. The turn off is marked, just past the forestry gate and immediately in front of a forestry cottage.
Rafford village with
Blervie Castle on the hillside
Follow this undulating path, keeping the railway cutting to your left for about ½ mile (1 km). Be careful when you join the bigger forestry track. Way markers direct you to turn left, and then immediately turn sharp left again back down onto the railway line. No matter how hard we try some folks miss this turning. You now travel along the highest and longest embankment section of the Grantown to Forres railway line with views to the right of Rafford village and its church with Blervie Castle on the hillside above it. Continuing over the Rafford road and then the Mosset Burn you leave the woods to cross fields. The line passes beside Dallas Dhu Distillery, which is no longer a working distillery, but is operated by Historic Scotland as a visitor attraction. It is open all year round and sells a genuinely rare and excellent malt, popular with collectors. Why not go in and enjoy a tour and a sample? The trail enters the outskirts of Forres about ½ mile ahead.
