MASTER TEMPLATE - Self Guided SSW

Inverness, the Capital of the Highlands, became Scotland’s fifth city at the millennium. It lies at the north end of the Great Glen, where the River Ness flows into the Moray Firth. The origins of Inverness lie on its western edge at the now wooded crag of Craig Phadrig. A fortress atop this crag was a capital of the Pictish kings from as early as the 400’s AD. A settlement was established by sixth century AD with the first royal charter being granted in the thirteenth century. In 1727 Fort George was built in the town, a large fortress capable of housing 400 troops. Fort George surrendered to the Jacobites when they took Inverness in February 1746 before their eventual defeat at nearby Culloden in April that year. After the garrison had surrendered the Jacobites laid explosives and destroyed Fort George. The red stone Inverness Castle you see today was built in the 1830s to house courts and administrative buildings.

Please note that there is a train that departs Inverness at 08:56 hrs and arrives into Elgin at 09:45 hrs (the next service departs at 09:46 hrs reaching Elgin at 10:38 hrs).

Ace Taxis of have been booked to uplift you from Elgin Train Station at 0945 hrs and transfer you to the start of the Speyside Way in Buckie. Ace Taxis will then transfer your luggage to your accommodation in Fochabers.

Therefore, please take your bags with you from Inverness on the train to Elgin.

Ace Taxis will be waiting for you in the Taxi Rank outside Elgin Station. If you would prefer to take the later train service please advise and we will re-arrange the taxi transfer.

Everything has been pre-arranged for you, however, if you do need to contact them, they can be reached on 01343 820820.

Fochabers is a charming village close to the River Spey in the county of Moray. It is a pleasant and friendly place with a population of around 1800. The current town of Fochabers dates from 1776, prior to the founding of the present village. The old town of Fochabers stood a short distance to the north and nearer Gordon Castle. The fourth Duke of Gordon had been for some time desirous to remove the present Town or Village of Fochabers upon account of its inconvenient nearness to Gordon Castle and at the beginning of 1776, he took steps to shift its inhabitants to a new site. The architect John Baxter of Edinburgh, already commissioned by the Duke in the renovation of Gordon Castle, drew up the plans for the layout of the new town. The first feu was taken up in mid-1776 and over the next twenty years or so the planned town took shape with some of the early tenementers being paid to flit from the old town. Later residents had to pay entry money. The village is also home to a family-run company, Baxters the well- known maker of Scottish produce.

Craigellachie lies at the very heart of Speyside situated on the Eastern bank of the River Spey near where the river merges with the Fiddich. The name means ‘rocky hill’ and the village dates back to circa 1750. Craigellachie is dependent on the whisky industry and is home to the Speyside Cooperage where local professional Coopers make whisky casks. The Cooperage has an excellent visitor centre and is on Dufftown Road. Craigellachie Bridge was built by Thomas Telford in 1814. A plaque on one of the towers guarding the entrance to the bridge records that the metalwork was cast in Wales, another plaque shows that the bridge was restored in 1964.

Ballindalloch is a small village on the River Spey. The Spey and the Fiddich are rivers famous for the Malt Whisky Distilleries using their waters to distil uisge beatha (the water of life), ie whisky as we call it today. Speyside boasts over 50 distilleries, more than half the total in Scotland. Ballindalloch Castle is one of the most beautiful and renowned castles in Scotland. Known as the Pearl of the North, it is located in the heart of Speyside near to the famed local whisky distilleries of Cragganmore, Glenlivet, Glenfarclas and Glenfiddich. Surrounded by majestic hills, and with the tumbling waters of the Rivers Spey and Avon flowing through the grounds, Ballindalloch is one of the few privately owned castles to have been lived in continuously by its original family. The Macpherson-Grants have resided here since 1546.

Grantown-on-Spey, the Capital of Strathspey, is in the centre of the Scottish Highlands. A traditional Highland town on the River Spey on the northern edge of the Cairngorms National Park, it is a fine example of a Georgian planned town – one of the first to be set out in this fashion in the 1760’s. It has many historic buildings, a tree lined Square and striking Georgian and Victorian architecture. The town is surrounded by ancient woodlands much of which is community owned and which offer a unique habitat for a wide variety of wildlife. The town has an award-winning Museum which tells the story of Grantown’s beginnings brought to life by an extensive photographic collection and audio visual display. Here you can find out about Queen Victoria’s Royal Visit of 1860, the coming of the railways and Grantown’s development as a popular holiday destination.

Boat of Garten is a small village in the Highland area of Badenoch and Strathspey. The settlement took its name from the nearby ferry over the River Spey and the village grew with the arrival of the Highland Railway when the first bridge was built. The railway through the village was built by the Inverness & Perth Junction and Strathspey Railway Companies in the 19th Century and is now preserved as part of Strathspey Steam Railway. Known as The Boat to locals the village is famous for the nearby Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Reserve at Loch Garten. When the first ospreys returned to breed in Scotland, this was the location they chose to nest. Now you can watch them close-up thanks to non-invasive CCTV. The reserve also has some excellent walks with the chance to see red squirrels & dragonflies.

Aviemore (gaelic: An Aghaidh Mhòr) is situated in the Cairngorms National Park within the Parish of Duthil and Rothiemurchus. Aviemore railway station is on the Highland Main Line and is also the southern terminus of the Strathspey Railway, a heritage railway. The village grew as a result of the railway junction built in 1898 following which the Highland Railway became a major employer, constructing housing for its staff and the Aviemore Hotel. As well as transporting passengers, the railway was the lifeline of the distilleries in the Spey Valley. Aviemore was one of the first skiing resorts to be established in Scotland with the opening of the chairlift in 1960 and is also notable for being near the freely grazing reindeer herd at Glen More, the only one in the United Kingdom.