Speyside Way

Speyside Way
Trail logo
Length137 km (85 mi)
LocationScottish Highlands
Established1981; 44 years ago (1981)
DesignationScotland's Great Trails
TrailheadsBuckie
Newtonmore
UseHiking
Elevation gain/loss1,485 metres (4,872 ft)
SeasonAll year
Trail map
Speyside Way
Legend
 Moray Coast Trail
to Cullen
0 km
0 mi
 Buckie
Moray Firth
at Spey Bay
 Moray Coast Trail
to Forres Forres railway station
18 km
11 mi
 Fochabers
Ben Aigan (
471 m
1550 ft
)
Dufftown,
and Isla Way to Keith Keith railway station
38 km
24 mi
 Craigellachie
Tomintoul
(
25 km
16 mi
spur)
57 km
35 mi
 Cragganmore distillery
at Ballindalloch
 Dava Way
to Forres Forres railway station
81 km
50 mi
 Grantown-on-Spey
Nethy Bridge
98 km
61 mi
 Boat of Garten
and Loch Garten
107 km
66 mi
 Aviemore
Aviemore railway station and Cairn Gorm (
1245 m
4080 ft
)
118 km
73 mi
 Kincraig
and Loch Insh
139 km
86 mi
 Newtonmore Newtonmore railway station
East Highland Way
to Fort William Fort William railway station

The Speyside Way (Doric: Strathspey Way;[citation needed] Scottish Gaelic: Slighe Shrath Spe) is a long-distance path in the Scottish Highlands.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The route begins in Buckie and ends at Newtonmore,137 kilometres (85 mi) away.[2] There is an optional spur leading off the main route to Tomintoul, adding 25 kilometres (16 mi) and 865 metres (2,838 ft) of ascent.[2]

The route primarily follows the River Spey through the scenery of Banffshire, Morayshire and Inverness-shire in Scotland, passing some of the distilleries that produce Speyside single malts. The first section from Buckie to Spey Bay follows the coastline, while the final section from Aviemore to Newtonmore follows most of the route of the former Strathspey Railway. It is listed as one of Scotland's Great Trails by NatureScot, and links directly to two further Great Trails: the Dava Way and the Moray Coast Trail.[2] About 52,750 people use the path every year, of whom about 2,750 complete the entire route.[9] As with the other Great Trails, the Way is waymarked with a symbol showing a thistle in a hexagon.

The Way was opened in 1981, from Spey Bay to Ballindalloch, and was extended over the years to reach Aviemore by 2000.[10] In 2020 the final extension to Newtonmore was completed. In 2021 the route's official website was modernised and its former bootprint logo replaced by a green-blue circle enclosing a stylised distillery and salmon.

Since 1994, the Speyside Way Ultramarathon has been run from Cragganmore distillery in Ballindalloch to Buckie, a distance of 36.5 miles (58.7 km).[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Speyside Way official website". Speyside Way. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Speyside Way". Scotland's Great Trails. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  3. ^ "The Speyside Way". walkhighlands. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Speyside Way". Long Distance Walkers Association. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  5. ^ Castle, Alan (15 December 2016). The Speyside Way (Second ed.). Cicerone Press. ISBN 9781852848682. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  6. ^ Megarry, Jacquetta; Bardwell, Sandra (28 July 2021). Speyside Way (Third ed.). Rucksack Readers. ISBN 978-1-898481-99-7. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  7. ^ Sands, Heidi M (April 2010). A Boot Up the Speyside Way. PiXZ Books. ISBN 978-1-906887-91-9. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  8. ^ Maxwell, Jonathan (30 November 2014). "Like Scotch Whisky? Here's a Walking Tour for You". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Scotland's networks of paths and trails: key research findings" (PDF). NatureScot. August 2018. p. 6. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  10. ^ McKenzie, Jamie (6 August 2018). "Plans lodged for last part of Speyside Way extension – and it's about to get much tougher". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  11. ^ "The Route". Speyside Way Ultra. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
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