A new bus service is being launched to link two Speyside communities.
A six-month trial period will commence next week on a service between Tomintoul and Grantown-on-Spey and if the route proves popular it could become a permanent fixture.
Moray Council’s public transport department hope that as well as being of use to locals, the service will be a boon for visitors to the region during the summer months.
The return service will operate morning and afternoon every Wednesday until late October.
Councillor John Cowe, who chairs the council’s economic development and infrastructure services committee, said: “I have every confidence that this service will prove popular with local residents and visitors alike.
“User figures will be monitored and will be reported back to committee at the end of the six months and we will decide how to proceed from there.”
The new service – number 364 – will depart from the village square in Tomintoul at 9.10am and 12.30pm, with return journeys at 10.045am and 1pm. The journey will take about 25 minutes each way.
There is currently no public bus service between the two communities.
The new route will enable passengers to link up with other bus routes from Grantown-on-Spey and train services from
Aviemore.
The council hope it will also open up Tomintoul and the surrounding area, which is popular with walkers and mountain bikers, to visitors without their own transport.