Day 8 - Findhorn to Lossiemouth

Today we finally felt we were actually on the coastal trail.  Shortly after leaving Findhorn, we were beside the North Sea and would remain there most of the day.  The wind coming in off the sea was so strong that it could easily knock us a step or two off our path.  The sideways rain stinging our faces was a new experience, and made for a challenging walk at times.

Hiking Beside The North Sea

The coastal path took us a little inland as we approached Burghead.  When we were passing a toilet block near a parking place, we spotted two TGO-looking hikers, so we approached them and to our complete surprise one of them was Immo, who we met in the Corrour Bothy in the Lairig Ghru on our 2022 crossing!!!  I was fortunate to also run into him in 2024 with the boys at Tarfsude.  We couldn’t believe our good luck running into him again for the third time in three crossings!  It was very nice catching up with Immo, and meeting his crossing partner, Birte.  I’ve mentioned it before, but this is one of the magic things about the TGOC - you make friends in a few short moments, yet they seem like life-long companions when you manage to re-connect on later crossings.

Mandy, Immo, JM - Reunited

After some steady walking we thought stopping in Hopeman for coffee sounded like a great idea.  Some quick research showed a coffee shop only a few hundred meters off our planned route.  Unfortunately, Thursday happens to be the only day of the week this particular coffees shop is closed. 😢 It was cold and we needed to warm up a bit, so we popped in at the local shop and ended up getting a coffee machine flat white for Mandy, and a few extra snacks for both of us.  We hit the road again, and as we were just leaving town Mandy noticed my pack rain cover wasn’t on my pack anymore. 😱 With the rain we’ve been having for the past eight days, this would not be a good situation.  I ran all the way back up to the top of the village but no luck.  On my way back down I happened to look down a side street, and about a block down I saw a fluorescent green blob that ended up being my pack cover.  Phew!!!!  That was a stroke of very good luck.  Without the cover I would have ended up with some very wet gear.

During all of that fiasco, our friend Frédéric from France showed up and we ended up walking the rest of the way together.  One very interesting thing about Frédéric is that his feet are so wide that he walks in sandals and tor socks. 😳 I’ve never seen a long distance hiker do this, but it really doesn’t seem to slow him down at all.

Cliffs On North Moray Coast

Quick Rest Stop

Light House On Lossiemouth Approach

Final Approach Into Lossiemouth

With all of the rain and heavy wind today we decided to book a room in Lossiemouth instead of staying in the dunes on the East side.  As we approached our hotel, we ran into Immo and Birte coming up from the beach.  We made arrangements to meet for dinner at 6:30.  We are just back now from a delicious dinner (JM - Mac and cheese, Mandy - battered haddock and fries with fresh pees), and we had a great time catching up with Immo, and getting to know Birte.

Side Note - We were lucky to have two more Typhoon flybys today!!!  We really love seeing the military jets in action!

That’s all for now.  Time to get ready for bed.  Thanks for reading, everybody!!!

Day 8 Route - 27 km, 250 m ascent