Just returned home after an amazing fortnight in the North of Scotland.
I can't speak highly enough about the Moray Challenge and associated walking events laid on by a very dedicated and enthusiastic organisation of volunteers.
Extremely well planned and great attention to detail. Wonderful company, scenic route and very informative.
You should really give this event serious consideration, perhaps a relaxing holiday after the annual 100! I'd definitely do this again.

Pete/Angela - I love your enthusiasm and drive. Hope the Moray group gets going - with members like you it will be a great success

Hello fellow LDWA members,
I've recently joined the association and was wondering if there would be interest in an event I've been developing with the Dava Way Association to do the Moray Way in 5 days. For those that have never heard of the Moray Way, it's a 95 mile circular route in the North East of Scotland that makes use of all of the Dava Way and parts of the Moray Coast Trail and Speyside Way. The route goes along the beautiful Moray Firth coast line with its sandy bays and rocky cliffs to Speybay, then inland along Strath Spey past all those world famous distillaries and food producers to Grantown, where the final stretch follows the old Highland Railway route over Dava Moor back to Forres and the coast. This was only made possible by the opening of the Dava Way in 2005 after nearly 10years of negotiation with the land owners to sign and maintain it.
For the past 2 years we have been piloting an event which we are calling the Moray Way 5 Day Challenge and we now think it's ready for LDWA members to enjoy after proving the logistics, tweaking the itinerary and getting local community groups and businesses on board. This year (June 22nd to 26th), it was part of the Moray Walking Festival and was completed by 3 LDWA members, Jo, Al & Steph, as well as other local walkers. They were all very enthusiastic about the route and the support provided and we had a fair bit of discussion on the way forward to let LDWA members know all about it. So this forum entry is the first step to start a discussion about it.
I'm sure many members have heard of, and done, the West Highland Way? well the Moray Way is roughly the same length, but is circular so you can start and finish wherever you want. There is a rail head at Forres, and Inverness airport provides easy access to the area via budget airlines. The 5 Day Challenge starts and finishes in the coastal village of Burghead with options for back packing via campsites or Hotels and B&Bs. A park and ride system is also offered for those that want to bring their car up to the event and stay somewhere central.
There is no local LDWA group up here in Moray, but I am hopeful that we will be able to start one up soon, because there are loads of fantastic long distance route that can be done up here and I am keen to share some of my local knowledge with other like minded members in the area.