Day 7 - Nairn to Findhorn

Abbreviated blog post today - JM and Mandy are tired.

Got on the road early (7:45)
Stopped for flat white and tea, shared an apple ginger scone (9:00)
First glimpse of the North Sea (9:40)
Spent half day walking through Culbin Forest. Some paths that are marked exist, some don’t…. 🤪
Met some nice people who were all curious about our big packs, and seemed impressed that we were walking all the way to Fraserburgh.
Stopped in Kinloss for supplies and pub dinner 😋 (16:00)
Arrived at campground, set up, and had showers (17:30)

Mandy’s Flat White

Apple Ginger Scone

Mandy In Culbin Forest

First Moray Coast Trail Sign

We are officially past the half-way mark today. 🥳 In honour of this, here are some random thoughts:

Favourite spot so far:
JM - River Meig Valley
Mandy - Coming through all the mountains

Least favourite spot so far:
JM - Kessock Bridge into Inverness 😱
Mandy - Road walking

Favourite snack so far:
JM - Joyce’s world class Scottish tablet
Mandy - Same

Best gear so far:
JM - Waterproofs (actually working this time)
Mandy - Sleeping pad (soooooo warm), puffer coat (also soooooo warm)

Worst/ least used gear so far:
JM - Spare t-shirt (It’s been too cold 🥶)
Mandy - A little disappointed by hiking shoes she brought

Still looking forward to:
JM - Coastal views, and the Ice Cream Trail
Mandy - Trying to see Magnus the Walrus who has been making news over here in the North Moray Coast as he makes his way to different locations. It’s very rare to see a Walrus in Scotland. Update: Mandy just said he was spotted in Norway nine hours ago so she is likely out of luck… ☹️


Other random thoughts:

It’s been very cool in the more populated areas we are now going through to walk the paths and trails that connect communities. We met one guy and his dogs today who was returning to his village via these trails after having visited a friend in an adjacent village.

It’s been surprisingly nice walking in overcast 5-10 degree C weather - the sun is not burning us, and we are not sweating to death.

We don’t want to jinx it but Marriage Experiment 3.0 has been going very well - some thanks to Duncan and Charlie for keeping us thoroughly entertained for Days 1 through 4. 😆

We had our first military flyby this afternoon by an RAF Typhoon. We are camped beside a military airfield to night so are hoping we get another show tomorrow. It’s always a big boost for us when it happens!

That’s all for tonight!!  Hands cold, body tired.  Goodnight, everybody!

Nighty-Night!!

Day 7 Route - 27.1 km, 250 m ascent