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ROSEISLE BEACH A very pleasant, long beach ride. Roseisle Beach stretches for nearly eight miles from Findhorn in the west to Burghead in the east. The route described is not way-marked or maintained by the Commission as a horse-riding route.
Location:
Roseisle Forest, near College of Roseisle
Map:
Landranger 27, Forres and Nairn and # 28, Elgin and
Dufftown.
Going:
Generally the sand is very firm with excellent going
for a good long gallop, though there are a few softer spots, so be
prepared to pull up if necessary
Distance:
5 miles to Findhorn, 2 miles to Burghead ( and back
again) Access & Parking: The best access is from the Forestry Commission car-park, about two miles west of the College of Roseisle crossroads on the Kinloss road. It is clearly sign-posted. At busy times of year the Forestry Commission ask that riders do not use the main car park, instead park in either of the paddocks on both sides of the road just after you enter the forest. Always park with consideration for other users and remove all droppings and other litter.
Always check the tide
tables as the good sand for riding is only exposed at low tide. It is
safest to arrive about three hours after high tide, that way you will be
riding as the tide is going out rather than coming in. Tide times are
published daily in the P&J and there is a link to the Hydrographic Office
website on the 'Where to ride page' of the MEAG website. High tide is
about an hour later each day so you can easily calculate a few days ahead.
At Findhorn the sea can go out for nearly a mile, so be very careful as
the tide comes in very fast!
The beach is quite
wide and most visitors tend to stay on the beach close to the parking
area. Even so there are usually quite a few walkers; give them a wide
berth if you can as they often have their dogs off the lead! This is the
place to let rip and allow your horse to let off steam – he will run out
of puff long before you run out of sand. If he doesn’t then you probably
have a Derby winner.
At the Findhorn end
you are close to the taxi-way at RAF Kinloss but the planes never seem to
be a problem and do not usually fly at weekends.
You will see a lot of
seabirds, and if lucky you may even see seals. For the historian, the old
wartime defences are of interest and will spice up the ride as horses
invariably spook at them!
The car park gets very
busy at weekends, especially when the weather is good in the summer so at
these times you should park on the access road or in one of the paddocks
by the entrance to the forest. At quiet times the main car-park is very
pleasant, shady, no flies and with some grass. There are also loos and
barbecue sites. From the car-park there are several paths leading to the
beach, but elsewhere there are very few places you can get back into the
forest. Once in the forest though there is a good network of tracks to
explore offering alternative return routes. Definitely a highly
recommended day out. There are some waymarked paths for walkers in the forest and you should avoid using these. Also, the path onto the beach nearest the car-park entrance has facilities for less-able people and should be avoided by riders. |
