Geo-Trips :: Alves and Roseisle
Laich o' Moray
A walk from Alves, Mon, 2 Mar 2020 by Anne Burgess
preceding leg | This trip is part of a series. | next leg |
As the land was still very wet, we decided to explore the network of minor roads north of Alves, sticking to those apart from a short forest section that was as muddy as we had anticipated. We did about eleven miles, depending on whose techie distance measuring gadget we believe. Mine (Garmin Etrex) clocked up 17.2 kilometres.
Click the blue circles to see a photograph taken from that spot and read further information about the location. The blue lines indicate the direction of view. There is also a slideshow of this trip. ( )
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Car Park and Recycling
This small car park serves the school across the road.
Biomass Digester
This is new enough not to be on the maps yet, but the hedge is old enough to make... more
Wester Alves
The farm house at Wester Alves faces south, an from here there is a glimpse of... more
Wester Alves
Functional farm buildings seen from the entrance to Wester Alves Farm.
Wet Field
At the far side of the field is the embankment that carried the Burghead Branch... more
Common Polypody (Polypodium vulgare)
The top of the dyke is well colonised by this fern.
North Alves
Between me and the pair of stone cottages is a cutting which is part of the... more
North Alves Holiday Park
The entrance to the caravan site, which is closed for the winter. The sign also... more
North Alves Holiday Park
A small but popular caravan park. Web site at https://www.north-alves-holiday-park.co.uk/.
Burghead Branch Line
Looking south from the road overbridge at North Alves. Interesting that the rails... more
Burghead Branch Line
Looking north from the road overbridge at North Alves.
Cottages at North Alves
The view from the road here, like so many others in the vicinity, is dominated by... more
Cottages at North Alves
If you can manage to avoid the wheelie bins [[[6403629]]], these traditional stone... more
Coltfield
Looking across flat land to the line of cottages and houses along the side road at... more
Near Coltfield
On the left is the road bridge over the disused Burghead Branch railway line, and... more
Coltfield
Cottages at the Coltfield crossroads. The large-scale map names Kishmul, which I... more
Near Coltfield
A busy-looking place but I don't know what goes on here.
Ephemeral Pond
The ephemeral pond shows just how waterlogged the ground is after some fairly... more
Looking towards Coltfield
The cottages at Coltfield crossroads are just in the next square but the... more
Burghead Branch Line
Looking north from the road overbridge near Coltfield. If anything the cutting is... more
Burghead Branch Line
Looking south from the road overbridge near Coltfield towards the cottages at... more
Kirkhill Farm
Kirkhill is a large farm with extensive outbuildings, standing on a slight rise... more
A Multiplicity of Gates
Several field gates close off the entrances to fields from the minor road south of... more
Gate at Kirkhill
The zoom lens greatly reduces the apparent distance from the roadside gate to the... more
Near Kirkhill
A stand of Scots Pine tops the low hill at Kirkhill Farm. What interested us,... more
Ramshackle Gates
This collection of disintegrating rusty gates would surely never contain a herd or... more
Trapped Wool
Fine strands of wool have become caught on a withered sourock stem. This may help... more
Cattle in the Woods
For some reason these cattle were all crowding together at the fence alongside the road.
Limousin Cattle
The farmer confirmed to me that these bonny brown beasts are Limousin cattle. This... more
Wood Pile
These look like the outer slices of tree trunks after the inner parts have been... more
Bruntlands Farm
The original farm house and buildings are to the left, and a new and no doubt... more
Bruntlands Farm
The original farm house and buildings are to the left, and a new and no doubt... more
Interesting Entrance
The original farm entrance has been almost closed off by two curves of drystane... more
Bruntlands Farm Cottages
The original cottages are now mostly obscured by new houses built around them.... more
New House at Bruntlands
This seems to be the newest house at Bruntlands Farm Cottages.
Drain at Roseisle
Although it's mapped only as a drain, this ditch is containing a significant... more
Entrance to Equus
An extensive equestrian enterprise has developed at Buthil crossroads.
Wester Buthil
Behind the 'for sale' sign is another phalanx of the virulently coloured wheelie... more
Entrance to Equus
From this side of the entrance to the flourishing equestrian business at Buthill,... more
Field at Buthill
The house in the trees is one of several new builds in the woods around Buthill.
North Buthill
A very small field and a stand of Scots Pine.
Oh Deer!
A fairly recently dead Roe Deer lying by the side of the minor road near Buthill.
Forest Path
The signpost indicates that it's three miles to Burghead by the path through the woods.
Building Land
A rather shabby sign at College of Roseisle advertises plots for building.
Drainage Ditch
One of a maze of ditches that criss-cross the flat farmlands.
Ploughed Land at Roseisle
Looking across a recently ploughed field to Tappoch Hill and Westbank.
Crab Apples
Many of the trees in this hedgerow are crab apples, and each of them is surrounded... more
Colaird House
A new house in an ideal situation beside Westbank.
Signposts
A cluster of signposts at a minor road junction at Roseisle.
Westbank Farm House
There's going to be a good display of daffodils here in a week or two, in front of... more
New House at Midbank
One of the many new houses that have sprung up in recent years.
House at Midbank
A traditional stone-built house at Midbank Farm.
Midbank Farm
The modern house on the right is called Sueno, and to its left is the farm house... more
Eastbank Steading
The steading is being converted for use as housing.
Eastbank Farm House
A traditional stone house with decorative finials on the dormer gables.
Safety Mirror
The mirror allows drivers coming out of Eastbank to see if there is any traffic on... more
Glendale
A new house with solar panels beside the minor road at Roseisle.
Bungalow with Holly Tree
We noted that there were still lots of berries on the holly tree beside this new bungalow.
Pile of Stones
You can barely see them, but this slope is covered with boulders overgrown with... more
Cone Stalks
These trees are firs, because the cones grow up from the twigs rather than hanging... more
Complete Cones
See [[[6404064]]] for a description of the stalks. Behind the bare stalks are... more
Conifer Plantation
This youngish plantation threatened to confuse us as it's not on the map, but our... more
Way through the Wood
The plantation is laid out with plenty of wide gaps, so there is no problem... more
Track into Spindlemuir Wood
Looking back the way we had come, out of Spindlemuir Wood towards the house at... more
Entering Spindlemuir Wood
This is the point where the track leaves the edge of the open field and enters the... more
Muddy Road
We had stuck mostly to tarmac roads, expecting any field or forest tracks to be... more
Crookies Moss
Strictly speaking this is a field beside Crookies Moss rathen than Crookies Moss... more
Shelter Belt
The buildings in the distance, beyond the fields on the other side of the shelter... more
Easter Crookies
There not much left of Easter Crookies - just a few feet of walls which were once... more
Spindlemuir Wood
The wood is mostly of Scots Pine, and it contains pheasant rearing pens.
Track near Spindlemuir
The track crosses open fields between the wood and the cottage at Spindlemuir.
Spindlemuir
The cottage is quietly situated by the track. Interestingly, the first edition of... more
Spindlemuir
Interestingly, the first edition of the six-inch Ordnance Survey maps shows... more
Field near Starmoss
Starmoss is on the far side of this field, which is viewed from the minor road... more
National Cycle Route Waymarker
National Cycle Route No 1 follows the minor road from Westfield to Coltfield,... more
Drannac House
The name outside this new house is made up of horseshoes.
Drannac House
A new house not yet on the maps.
Field near Easterton
Looking across the fields towards Easterton Farm and associated cottages, though... more
Morland
A smart new house, with the obligatory row of Moray Council's garish wheelie bins... more
Wet Field
Although the field has been ploughed, this corner of it is obviously very wet.
Farm without a Name
Although these large sheds are on the maps, the name of the farm is not, unless... more
Remains of a Badger
At least we think it was a badger. There are plenty of them around.
New Houses at Longhillock
These modern houses are built on the site of the steading belonging to Longhillock Farm.
Burn Brae
The name on the elaborate gate is Burn Brae, but the large scale map appears to... more
Request to Drivers
At the end of the road to Standingstone Farm is a notice asking drivers to spray... more
Wheel Spray
There is indeed a bottle of some sort of spray beside the notice asking drivers to... more
Longhillock
This is the traditional stone-built farm house at Longhillock.
Standingstone Farm
This is a large farm with extensive outbuildings and cottages.
Dumped Earth
Hummocks of earth from somewhere and dumped in a field at Standingstone Farm.
Minor Road near Kirkton
This is a narrow road with passing places. On the right is a deep ditch. We had... more
Sparrow Castle
The building bears the date 1776, and was altered and renovated in the 1970s.
Kirkton Crossroads
This is where National Cycle Route 1 crosses the minor road, seen here, from Alves... more
Kirkton
The house and steading at Kirkton are becoming ruinous, but the house must have... more
Sparrow Castle
The building bears the date 1776, and was altered and renovated in the 1970s.
Sparrow Castle
The building bears the date 1776, and was altered and renovated in the 1970s. I... more
The Cottage
According to the name on the gate, this is simply 'The Cottage'. It is in the fork... more
A Massive Tree
I'll have to go back later and find out what this massive tree is. Behind it is... more
Kirkton Cottages
A pair of old cottages, probably originally tied cottages belonging to Kirkton Farm.
Boulders
Although there is a row of large boulders along the roadside, I don't think they... more
Palm Trees
A trio of palms, flourishing in the benign microclimate south of the Moray Firth.
Carden Close
Carden Close is a development of modern bungalows on the outskirts of the village... more
Carden Close
Carden Close is a development of modern bungalows on the outskirts of the village... more
Carden Close
Carden Place is a development of modern bungalows on the outskirts of the village... more
Carden Close
Carden Place is a development of modern bungalows on the outskirts of the village... more
All images © Anne Burgess and available under a Creative Commons licence .