Читать книгу The Speyside Way. A Scottish Great Trail, includes the Dava Way and Moray Coast trails онлайн

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Speyside and Moray are areas steeped in history, the land of the ancient Picts, a Celtic race that vanished in the ninth century AD, but who left behind evidence of their lives in a number of archaeological remains, from Pictish forts to elaborately decorated standing stones. The Jacobite campaigns of the 17th and 18th centuries have also left their mark on the landscape in the form of battlefields, old troop barracks and expertly constructed roads to aid military troop and supply movements.

In more recent times the great Victorian railway network penetrated the region, its lines connecting remote communities and bringing the first tourists from far afield to discover and delight in the beauties of this corner of Scotland. Today, the majority of these railways have closed, but fortunately many miles of trackbed have been rescued and converted into excellent pathways for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. There are probably few other areas of the UK where so many miles of disused railway tracks have been opened up for recreational use. Both the Speyside Way and Dava Way explore many miles of these old lines, and the Speyside Way even gives an opportunity to visit one of the country's most popular steam railways, the Strathspey Railway between Aviemore and Boat of Garten.