Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Walking festival in Moray expands with hopes to attract wider audience to region

Walkers explore the River Avon.
Walkers explore the River Avon.

Spectacular sights and unknown secrets of ruined buildings are about to be revealed as part of a festival celebrating the great outdoors.

For nine years, the Moray Way Association has been attracting enthusiasts to the region during midsummer to make the most of the long daylight hours.

Now the largest ever programme for the group’s Walking and Outdoor Festival has been revealed amid hopes it will promote the area to a wider audience.

Running tours have been included for the first time, at sites including the historic grounds of Gordon Castle in Fochabers and the stunning coastline near Cullen.

Popular events such as a walk through “ghost towns” of deserted settlements in Strathavon will return to reveal the bustling history of the rural area before the early 19th Century.

For the first time, the festival will feature an opening event with writer and natural history television presenter, Mike Dilger, to share stories from his trips across Scotland at Findhorn’s Universal Hall.

Project manager Diane Smith explained that organisers had teamed up with Kendal Mountain Festival for the first time for the appearance, to increase the event’s appeal.

She said: “That is probably the biggest outdoor festival in the UK and we were really interested in partnering up with them to attract some big speakers.

“We have really grown over the years. We don’t just do walking anymore, we do mountain biking, water sports, art and heritage rambles.

“It goes from the coast all the way up to the hills in Moray and the slopes of the Cairngorms. The best part about this part of the country is that all these places are easily accessible and reasonably close.”

Other highlights of this year’s programme include a midsummer trip to the summit of Ben Rinnes for sunrise, a guided walk from Dufftown’s town centre to a demolished distillery and the local fairy village and secrets from Pluscarden Abbey.

Mike Dilger will appear at the at the Universal Hall in Findhorn on Thursday, June 13 at 7pm. The Moray Walking and Outdoor Festival will run from June 14 to June 23 at sites across the region.