Dulsie Bridge, Logie Steading and Lochindorb Castle
A few hours by car, from Dulsie Bridge to Lochindorb Castle.
Dava Moor is the wide, open heather country between Strathspey and the Moray coast, crossed by a few quiet roads.
This day out crosses it to a ruined castle on an island in a moorland loch and a stone bridge high over the gorge of the Findhorn. Lunch is in an old model farm turned into small shops and a café.
Pick your dates, and who is coming, and every stop will say whether it is open that day, and what it is like with children, a dog or a wheelchair.
- How
- A few hours by car
- Distance
- About 21 miles
- Starts
- Dulsie Bridge
- Ends
- Lochindorb Castle
- Good for
- Castles
The day
Dulsie Bridge
An attraction
Dulsie Bridge is a stone arch bridge of 1755, carrying a quiet road over a rocky gorge of the River Findhorn about 60 feet above the riverbed. Park in the layby on the south side and look down from the parapet, upstream and down. A clear path runs a little way west for a view of the arch from above, partly behind trees. A rougher path drops steeply from the north end of the bridge to the riverbank, where the arch looks its best. Wear boots with a good grip there, and keep children close: the sides of the gorge are steep and uneven, and the river runs hard below.
More about Dulsie BridgeAbout 15 min by car
Logie Steading
An attraction
Logie Steading is on the B9007, with free parking beside it. It was built in the 1920s as the estate's model farm. Its sandstone courtyard, entered through an archway with a clock above it, is now home to small independent shops: a secondhand bookshop, an art gallery, a farm and garden shop and more. The River Findhorn Heritage Centre tells the river's tales, among them the Wolf of Badenoch's. Lunch is at the café, where the cooking uses the estate's own Longhorn beef and venison and there's a children's menu. Dogs are welcome at the courtyard tables, though not inside. The shops are run by their owners and some take a day off in winter, so ring ahead if one is the reason you are going.
About 20 min by car
Lochindorb Castle
An attraction
For Lochindorb, head south on the A940 and A939. A single-track road runs along the loch's east shore, opposite the castle on its island. There is no car park, and the road's passing places are for passing. It was a Comyn stronghold in the 1200s, Edward the First of England stayed in it in 1303, and from 1372 it was the base of Alexander Stewart, the Wolf of Badenoch, who burned Forres, and Elgin with its cathedral. The crown ordered it dismantled in the 1450s, though much of it still stands. Only a boat reaches the island, so this is a view from the shore.
More about Lochindorb Castle
Make it a weekend
Days that start near Lochindorb Castle.
Photograph by logie