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Craigellachie to Ballindalloch

Speyside Way · Stage 4

Walking time measured on the mapped line (TrailSplits time model, moving time; within 22 % on four in five test legs). Outside Switzerland our walking times often run short of the times route operators publish; treat them as optimistic. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights.

19.3 kmStage distance
196 mAscent, measured
5 h 11Walking time, measured
4Stage number

Along the old railway to Ballindalloch: about 12 miles (19.3 km), easy and mostly level; 19.3 km on our line. Do not count on the free campsite at Fiddich Park in Craigellachie: the Way's pages disagree on whether it is open. The section ends at the old Ballindalloch station, where the free campsite is open from May to the end of September; the village is about 1.6 km away, and beds nearby are scarce.

Best season: June to September. The Way has no official season. Scotland's Great Trails says some places to stay close out of season and most are busy in season, so book ahead. The free campsite at Ballindalloch station is open from May to the end of September, and the Strathspey steam railway runs in season only. Our weather figures give June to September as the best months, with snow possible on higher ground into May. Wild camping is allowed under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. Before you go

Craigellachie to Ballindalloch

Loading topographic map…
50m100m150m200m05 km10 km15 km19.3 km147m83m
Flat (<5%)
Green: Craigellachie to Ballindalloch. Grey: full trail. Elevation follows this mapped track.

Craigellachie to Ballindalloch

4 / 9
GPX

Where this stage starts and ends

Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 13 October 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.

Stage start

Craigellachie

Town

The Way's section page says Moray Council has closed the toilets and camping area at Fiddich Park, while its accommodation page still lists the campsite for April to September. Neither page is dated. Do not plan a night there: use the hotels in Craigellachie or Aberlour. speysideway.org, read 13 October 2026

The Craigellachie Hotel is by the line. Do not count on the free campsite at Fiddich Park: the Way's own pages disagree on whether it is open.

A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.

The Craigellachie Hotel · Hotel

Season 2026: 2026 dates not published

Booking method not published

Stage end

Ballindalloch

Trailhead

Section 4 ends at the old Ballindalloch station on the line, about 1.6 km from the village. Ballindalloch is a former railway station, not a village, and beds are hard to find, Scotland's Great Trails says: the free campsite at the station is the stay here, from May to the end of September. Book any bed nearby well ahead.

Ballindalloch Station campsite · Camping spot

Season 2026: 1 May 2026 to 30 September 2026

Walking time for this leg

No walking time is published for this leg. Measured on the mapped line, the stage takes about 5 h 11 of walking.

Make it your trip

Book your nights ahead

Book directly with each place: the Way's staff do not book beds or transport, its accommodation page says. Most places are busy in season and some close out of season, Scotland's Great Trails says, so book well ahead. Beds are scarce at Ballindalloch, a former station rather than a village, and we found none at Spey Bay. Wild camping is allowed under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. Some hosts carry luggage if you ask when you book, and Moray Ways names Speyside Couriers for bag transfers along the Way (£17.50 a bag per transfer on 13 October 2026).

Buckie to Newtonmore

Seven days with a bed or a campsite every night, the last section split at Insh Hall by Kincraig.

Plan this journey

Buckie to Grantown-on-Spey

The Moray coast and lower Speyside in four days, to the edge of the Cairngorms National Park.

Plan this journey

Grantown-on-Spey to Newtonmore

The Cairngorms National Park in three days, by Boat of Garten and Insh Hall.

Plan this journey

Weather this week

Loading the forecast for on the trail (114 m)…

Weather by month

Typical weather on this stage, around 81–147 m. Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.

Monthly climate averages and daylight
Month
WeatherMixedMixedGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodMixed
Day / night7°/1°7°/0°9°/2°11°/3°14°/5°17°/8°19°/10°18°/10°16°/8°12°/5°9°/3°7°/1°
Rain, mm9072685462716480751069088
Snow at high pointPossiblePossibleFrost––––––––Possible
Daylight7 h 169 h 2511 h 4214 h 1416 h 3117 h 5817 h 2515 h 2212 h 5410 h 288 h 056 h 40

Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.

Before you go

Prepare for the Speyside Way

Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.

Ballindalloch to Grantown-on-Spey

Section 5 is the hardest of the Way: moderate to hard, with many short climbs, stepping-stone crossings of streams and cattle, and slow going in wet weather between Ballindalloch and Cromdale. It is about 13 miles (20.9 km) by the Way's figure and 23.7 km on our mapped line, 2.8 km more. Allow a long day, and dogs are not advised on the off-road stretch.

Scotland's Great Trails: Speyside Way

Fiddich Park and the Aberlour visitor centre

The Way's own pages disagree about the free campsite at Fiddich Park in Craigellachie: one says Moray Council has closed its toilets and camping area, another still lists it for April to September. Do not plan a night there. The Way's home page also says the Speyside Way Visitor Centre in Aberlour, the ranger base, is closed. speysideway.org refused our second check on 13 October 2026, so check with Moray Council before you rely on either.

Speyside Way: Craigellachie to Ballindalloch

No fires in the Cairngorms

From about Cromdale to Newtonmore the Way is in the Cairngorms National Park, where a byelaw bans fires and barbecues. The park's path closures page listed wildfire closures in Glenmore and Strath Nethy on 13 October 2026, none of them on the Way: read it before you set off.

Cairngorms National Park: path closures

The diversion banner at Delfur

Moray Ways' Speyside Way page still opens with an undated banner about a signed diversion round a damaged bridge at Delfur, on section 3, and a ranger message from May 2021. We could not confirm whether it still applies: follow any diversion signs on the ground.

Moray Ways: the Speyside Way

The Tomintoul spur

The Way has a spur from Ballindalloch to Tomintoul, the highest village in the Highlands: 25 km more and 865 m of climb over wild, exposed moorland, waymarked, but you need a map and compass in low cloud. This guide's line and plans leave it out.

Scotland's Great Trails: Speyside Way

Getting there

Connect your journey

Travel around Craigellachie to Ballindalloch.

Directions to this start Travel from this finish

Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.

To the start at Buckie

Buses link Elgin with Buckie; between Spey Bay and Buckie they run only on Fridays and Saturdays, the Way's transport page says. The page is undated: check current times on Traveline Scotland.

Traveline Scotland: journey planner

On the way

In the Cairngorms, a bus links Cromdale, Grantown-on-Spey, Nethy Bridge, Boat of Garten and Aviemore, and the Strathspey steam railway runs from Broomhill to Aviemore in season. Aviemore has a railway station. Check times on Traveline Scotland.

Strathspey Railway

Home from Newtonmore

The Way's transport page names ScotRail trains and Scottish Citylink coaches for this end of the Way, Citylink from Aviemore to Inverness, Glasgow and Edinburgh. The page is undated: check times from Newtonmore on Traveline Scotland.

Traveline Scotland: journey planner

Take your trip with you

Offline maps

Prepare each section while you still have a connection: in the forests and on the moor between Ballindalloch and Grantown the signal can be weak.

Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.

  1. Open this trail in the app. Install TrailSplits, then open this trail there. On iPhone, downloads in a browser may not be available in the installed app.
  2. Choose your route or stages. Choose Prepare offline above. Wait for the route and maps to finish downloading.
  3. Try it before leaving coverage. Switch offline, close and reopen the app, then use My Hikes to start navigation. Repeat for every part you will need.

Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.

Route & sources

Route map & sources

The Speyside Way's own site (speysideway.org) gives eight sections from Buckie to Aviemore, about 65 miles (about 105 km), in miles only; Scotland's Great Trails (NatureScot) adds the extension from Aviemore to Newtonmore, 19.5 miles (31.4 km), and gives 137 km for the whole Way, with 1485 m of climb. The Way's own site still says the extension is planned, while NatureScot and the Cairngorms National Park treat Newtonmore as the end. The Way publishes no stage times, and nor does NatureScot, so the times here are measured on our line. The kilometres on each section are our conversions of the miles, and speysideway.org refused our second check, so read them as about. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (relation 1026251, from the planet of 11 October 2026): 139.5 km from Buckie to Newtonmore, cut at the nine section ends. It leaves out the Tomintoul spur, 25 km from Ballindalloch over open moorland with 865 m of climb, which is part of the Way but not of this line. Every section but one is within 1.2 km of the official figure. Ballindalloch to Grantown-on-Spey is 23.7 km on the mapped line against about 20.9 km (13 miles): 2.8 km over, and the hardest ground of the Way. Our climb is measured on terrain heights, so short steep banks are smoothed out.

Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.

Scotland's Great Trails: Speyside Way

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation

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