Our usual base when we’re up in the Cairngorms is close to Tomintoul, which not only makes accessing nearly all of the Cairngorms national park in less than an hour possible, but which is also a great stepping off point to explore Moray to the north. Previously we’ve popped up to Moray for walks up Ben Rinnes and around Logie Steading, but this year we (rather unexpectedly) found ourselves with a day in Scotland which was too hot to take the dogs for a big walk. Fortunately Moray has a lovely coastline which we were able to take advantage of for a slightly cooler walk.
There are several beaches to choose from, but this time we chose Findhorn beach, mainly because we could park right by the beach and because it looked long enough that we were confident that Coal would have plenty of space to avoid other dogs. We drove up fairly early and got parked with no problems at all: there’s a huge car park (with toilets) signposted from Findhorn ‘West Beach’. We were probably only the second car there and parking cost just £1 for the whole day.
Crossing to the beach you are immediately greeted by a row of colourful beach huts. The beach itself was pebbly (the pretty silvery kind), although I believe at low tide there is a section of sandy beach too. We spent around an hour strolling along the beach, turning left to walk all the way to the end, where the Moray Firth cuts across between Findhorn and Culbin Forest. We were enjoying our visit and the lovely coastal views so much that when we turned to walk back to the car, we carried on past the car park and walked the other way too!
Findhorn Beach is a great place for wildlife watchers, with seals often spotted sunning themselves on the shore here, as well as a whole host of bird species. The Moray Firth is also home to a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins, although I think you need luck on your side more than anything else to spot them.
Having turned left initially, which was the more pebbly of the two directions available, we had the beach wholly to ourselves until we retraced our steps back in the other direction. The sandier part of the beach was busier, with dog walkers and families enjoying the Indian Summer (and who can blame them!). It’s possible to pick up the Moray Coast Trail from here and you can walk for miles in either direction: being rather hot away from the beach though, we decided to call it a day to make sure the dogs stayed nice and cool.
Dog friendly rating: 5/5. Findhorn Beach is dog friendly all year round, with no restrictions. We found it to be nice and quiet when we visited, with plenty of space to circumvent other dog walkers if required. Just keep an eye on your dog if they like to swim, as in some places it looked like the currents were quite strong.
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