Moray May Musings

Written May 21

Can’t believe it’s almost the end of May! I have a few more days here and I’m ready to go back to the US. I haven’t had any homesickness but I feel like I’m ready to get back to my usual routine, see people who I know, and spend less money. It’s been strange only surrounding myself with strangers for a month!

Moray Coast Trail day 1 started Sunday in Findhorn and went to Hopeman, 11.8 miles.

This was a cool walk with lots of different terrain; rocks, sand by the beach, dunes, the hinterland, and a forest. I listened to Billie Eilish’s new album and some other songs during the walk. I had a good time overall and got into Hopeman at like 2pm after a little over 4 hours. The forest was a highlight for me! Apparently forests are rare up here.

^Breakfast of champions

Once I got into Hopeman I passed a nice looking beach restaurant so I went in for some fish/ chips and cider. There was a live band playing too and they were actually really talented! Then I check into my hotel room. It was pretty bland and not the best hotel (though the staff was very nice), but only £55 a night so a bed is a bed! That’s cheaper than the pods I stayed in along the WHW with no bathroom.

The Moray Coast Trail is very different from the West Highland Way in scenery and vibe. I didn’t see anyone walking the trail from end to end when I was there, just locals walking parts of it. On the WHW there was more conviviality and a sense that everyone is in it together and suffering together, but this one definitely feels more solo. Like picture a walk along the beach for hours on end and you’re alone just contemplating your thoughts as seagulls squawk and waves crash. Sometimes I’m standing in the middle of no where on a sand dune in front of the Moray Firth and think “what am I even doing here right now?” but then I’m like well if I were in LA I would be just sitting around on my couch watching YouTube so I should be soaking this up before I go back.

I was so wiped out when I got to the hotel in Hopeman (due to the pint no doubt) and nothing was really open around me so I just ate a protein bar for dinner and watched YouTube videos of Brittany Broski and Trixie Mattel doing silly makeup videos until I passed out. ✌️

The next day on Monday I walked from Hopeman to Lossiemouth. Only 7.5 miles, but it was harder than the day before for a couple reasons. One : the terrain was more technical with undulating sand dunes and even sections next to the beach that were completely eroded by the wind and water that I had to find alternate paths or hope I don’t slide down the sand. There was also one part of the trail that I was following on the map but it literally just dropped off a cliff. I was like there is no way I’m supposed to go down that. I tried to find another way and finally just walked backwards around the cliff, went down to the beach and then walked on the beach for about a mile, getting whipped by the wind and water.

Also, my Achilles tendon on my left foot has flared up - Ah!! Ironic because on my first week here I finished the book Song of Achilles. If it’s not one thing, it’s another right? Now that my right ankle feels healed, my left is angry with me. I think it is an overuse injury because of the amount of exercise I’ve done this month so far compared to my usual load. I didn’t have the chance to train and ramp up my mileage before I left because of my sprain in April, so the shock of doing a lot of hiking in March to virtually not moving in April to doing 100 miles of unfamiliar terrain in May has been  a lot for my wee Achilles tendon. It’s apparently the biggest tendon in the body and very important, so it hurts every step I take. It’s really frustrating. On Skye I had maybe 2 days where I had no pain at all while hiking and I got so excited I may have overdone it there with multiple 10 miler days going very fast uphill. Every other day on this trip I’ve had to deal with chronic pain in my legs/ feet, I’ve used constant compression and pain meds, icing and ice baths.

The hike was lovely though, walking through many patches of yellow gorse bushes, past two lighthouses, going into sea caves and seeing big rock formations.

My day ended at the Links Lodge in Lossiemouth, a very nice B&B with a view over the golf course and the sea. The sunset was brilliant from my room window! If you look at the line where the water meets the skyline, you can see the silhouette of the coast on the other side of the Moray Firth which is about 88 miles across by boat.

On the third day, today, I took 2 busses to Buckie instead of walking 15 miles on my Achilles. It’s really bummed me out, having to not “finish” these trails, making it so that I can’t truthfully say I’ve completed either of them due to my injuries. I’ll try to do tomorrow which is the last day and I really want to see Bow Fiddle Rock!

I’m going to go on a little stream of consciousness journey now so bear with me. The towns are small and quiet here - old fishing villages - there’s less to do, less things for me to keep busy with, so it’s more of a solo challenge than the other parts of my trip. The village attractions are the beaches, private golf clubs, and fishing museums. I’ve sat by the beach and stared at the water for what feels like days now. This part of Scotland has the most whisky distilleries per capita, like Glenfidditch. They are more inland though, so I don’t plan on partaking in any tours this time. There are also less tourists here and if they are tourists they are usually all Brits. Not necessarily a bad thing but a little more quiet compared to the touristy heaven of Skye, the rugged challenge of the West Highlands, and the popular city of Edinburgh. However, the scenery is gorgeous here in Moray and I think the people are extremely friendly and generous. My theory is that in the U.K., the more North you go the harder the accents are to understand but the nicer the people are. Idk if I’ve said that before on the blog but I think it’s true. I can’t speak for the South of the U.K. / England since I haven’t spent as much time there but I’ve heard people in London are less friendly and I think the Scottish friendliness is a universal experience.

After this week I feel as if I’ve seen and done the absolute most possible in Scotland that one can in just one month! Not including the weekend spent in the English Lake District (I do miss that jewel of an area). I’m proud of myself for all that I’ve scheduled and planned, I think all that time planning the trip paid off because I’ve hardly had to think much about what to do (unless it was when I decided to skip sections of the trails) - past Abbie has got my back. Past Abbie is a travel agent extraordinaire and I salute her. I just go from place to place, head empty, zero brain cells turned on, following my little schedule. I show up and they magically have my reservations! Half the time I don’t even remember what these cities/ hotels are called or what they look like before I go. My motto has been “do now, ask questions later” and it’s been working out so far. People that ask me about my trip keep telling me I’m brave and look at me with a strange grin like “I wouldn’t have done that at your age if I were you but good for you, you’re weird” or “you’ve got youth on your side” and then they laugh their laughs and walk away and I never see them again. But I don’t think I’m brave - being brave is going to a country where I don’t speak the language and I am backpacking and camping every night on a tight budget. No, I’m doing it the most easy way I can think of! Going from inn to inn and eating little scones and drinking lattes and pints and spending money like I have no idea how much I’m spending, while I hike in between. But idk, you tell me, is that brave? If I were a big dude would they think the same things?

Currently sitting in a bar waiting to check into my hotel room with a bunch of locals getting blitzed out of their minds playing billiards at 2:30pm on a Tuesday. I guess there isn’t much else to do! Might order a pint too…