Speyside Way
{{Short description|Long-distance path in the Scottish Highlands}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox hiking trail
| name = Speyside Way
| embed =
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| photo = Speyside Way logo 2021 onwards.jpg
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| caption = Trail logo
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| established = {{start date and age|1981}}
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| length_km = 137
| location = Scottish Highlands
| designation = Scotland's Great Trails
| trailheads = Buckie
Newtonmore
| use = Hiking
| elev_gain_and_loss = {{convert|1485|m|ft}}
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| season = All year
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| website = {{official URL}}
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{{Speyside Way}}
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}}
The Speyside Way (Doric: {{lang|sco|Strathspey Way}};{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} {{langx|gd|Slighe Shrath Spe}}) is a long-distance path in the Scottish Highlands. The route begins in Buckie and ends at Newtonmore,{{convert|137|km|mi}} away. There is an optional spur leading off the main route to Tomintoul, adding {{convert|25|km|mi}} and {{convert|865|m|ft}} of ascent.
The route primarily follows the River Spey through the scenery of Banffshire, Morayshire and Inverness-shire in Scotland, passing some of the distilleries that produce Speyside single malts. The first section from Buckie to Spey Bay follows the coastline, while the final section from Aviemore to Newtonmore follows most of the route of the former Strathspey Railway. It is listed as one of Scotland's Great Trails by NatureScot, and links directly to two further Great Trails: the Dava Way and the Moray Coast Trail. About 52,750 people use the path every year, of whom about 2,750 complete the entire route. As with the other Great Trails, the Way is waymarked with a symbol showing a thistle in a hexagon.
The Way was opened in 1981, from Spey Bay to Ballindalloch, and was extended over the years to reach Aviemore by 2000. In 2020 the final extension to Newtonmore was completed. In 2021 the route's official website was modernised and its former bootprint logo replaced by a green-blue circle enclosing a stylised distillery and salmon.
Since 1994, the Speyside Way Ultramarathon has been run from Cragganmore distillery in Ballindalloch to Buckie, a distance of {{convert|36.5|mi|km}}.
See also
References
{{reflist | refs =
{{cite web
|url=https://www.speysideway.co.uk/
|title=Speyside Way official website
|publisher=Speyside Way
|accessdate=20 November 2021
}}
{{cite web
|url=https://www.scotlandsgreattrails.com/trail/speyside-way/
|title=Speyside Way
|accessdate=10 February 2021
|publisher=Scotland's Great Trails
}}
{{cite web
|url=https://www.ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=Speyside+Way
|title=Speyside Way
|publisher=Long Distance Walkers Association
|access-date=10 February 2021
}}
{{cite book
|last=Castle
|first=Alan
|date=15 December 2016
|title=The Speyside Way
|url=https://www.cicerone.co.uk/the-speyside-way-second
|publisher=Cicerone Press
|isbn=9781852848682
|access-date=10 February 2021
|edition=Second
}}
{{cite web
|url=https://www.nature.scot/sites/default/files/2018-09/Research%20Consolidation%20Report.pdf
|title=Scotland's networks of paths and trails: key research findings
|publisher=NatureScot
|access-date=10 February 2021
|date=August 2018
|page=6
}}
{{cite news
|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/like-scotch-whisky-heres-a-walking-tour-for-you-1417408050
|title=Like Scotch Whisky? Here's a Walking Tour for You
|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal
|access-date=10 February 2021
|date=30 November 2014
|first=Jonathan
|last=Maxwell
}}
{{cite news
|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/like-scotch-whisky-heres-a-walking-tour-for-you-1417408050
|title=Plans lodged for last part of Speyside Way extension – and it's about to get much tougher
|newspaper=The Press and Journal
|access-date=10 February 2021
|date=6 August 2018
|first=Jamie
|last=McKenzie
}}
{{cite web
|url=https://www.speysidewayultra.co.uk/route/
|title=The Route
|publisher=Speyside Way Ultra
|accessdate=10 February 2021
}}
{{cite book
|last1=Megarry
|first1=Jacquetta
|last2=Bardwell
|first2=Sandra
|date=28 July 2021
|title=Speyside Way
|url=https://www.rucsacs.com/book/speyside-way/
|publisher=Rucksack Readers
|isbn=978-1-898481-99-7
|access-date=11 September 2021
|edition=Third
}}
{{cite book
|last=Sands
|first=Heidi M
|date=April 2010
|title=A Boot Up the Speyside Way
|url=http://www.halsgrove.com/proddetail.php?prod=9781906887919
|publisher=PiXZ Books
|isbn=978-1-906887-91-9
|access-date=11 February 2021
}}
{{cite web
|url=https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/speyside-way.shtml
|title=The Speyside Way
|publisher=walkhighlands
|accessdate=10 February 2021
}}
}}
External links
{{Commons category|Speyside Way}}
- [https://www.speysideway.co.uk/ Official Speyside Way website]
- [https://www.scotlandsgreattrails.com/trail/speyside-way/ Scotland's Great Trails]
- [https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/speyside-way.shtml walkhighlands]
- [https://www.ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=Speyside+Way Long Distance Walkers Association]
{{UK Trails}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Footpaths in Highland (council area)
Category:Rail trails in Scotland