Northeast Scotland - Scotland - page 527

SUENO'S STONE
The tidy town of Forres, 4 miles south of Findhorn, is famous for Sueno's Stone , a remarkable, 6.5m-high Pictish
stone. It is the tallest and most elaborately carved Pictish stone in Scotland, dating from the 9th or 10th century,
and is thought to depict a battle between the Picts and invading Scots or Vikings. It's protected from the elements
by a huge plate-glass box, and is signposted from the main A96 Inverness-to-Elgin road at Forres.
Four miles north of Fochabers, at the mouth of the River Spey, is the tiny village of
Spey Bay , the starting point for the Speyside Way long-distance footpath. It's also home
to the Scottish Dolphin Centre ( www.wdcs.org/scottishdolphincentre ; Tugnet Ice House,
Spey Bay; admission free; 10.30am-5pm Apr-Oct) with an interesting display on the
Moray Firth dolphins , which can occasionally be seen off the mouth of the river, and a
pleasant cafe.
Fochabers is on the Aberdeen-to-Inverness bus route.
FINDHORN
POP 885
The attractive village of Findhorn lies at the mouth of the River Findhorn, just east of the
Findhorn Bay nature reserve. It's a great place for birdwatching , seal-spotting and
coastal walks .
Findhorn Heritage Centre ( www.findhorn-heritage.co.uk ; admission free; 2-5pm
daily Jun-Aug, 2-5pm Sat & Sun May & Sep) , housed in a former salmon-fisher's bothy at
the northern end of the village, records the history of the settlement. The beach is just over
the dunes north of the heritage centre - at low tide, you can see seals hauled out on the
sandbanks off the mouth of the River Findhorn.
Hippies old and new should check out the Findhorn Foundation ( www.findhorn.org ;
visitor centre 10am-5pm Mon-Fri year-round, plus 1-4pm Sat Mar-Nov & 1-4pm Sun
May-Sep) , an international spiritual community founded in 1962. There's a small perman-
ent population of around 150, but the community receives thousands of visitors each year.
With no formal creed, the community is dedicated to cooperation with nature, 'dealing
with work, relationships and our environment in new and more fulfilling ways', and fos-
tering 'a deeper sense of the sacred in everyday life'. Projects include an eco-village, a
biological sewage-treatment plant and a wind-powered generator. Guided tours (£5) start
from the visitor centre at 2pm on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from April to
November, and on Sunday as well from April to September, or you can take a self-guided
tour with guidebook (£5).