Wildlife and war on the Moray Firth
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THE serried rank of concrete blocks stretching along the shingle beach looks almost artistic. Along with pillboxes and observation towers, they form part of the Second World War anti-invasion defences that line the Moray coast.
In the event a German invasion from Norway never happened but the defences remain, now just a historical reminder of when Britain was under threat.
At the little village of Kingston near Garmouth, on Spey Bay, a Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve shows a gentler side to this coastline.
Constant erosion and deposition by the river has created a range of habitats from bare shingle to reed beds, freshwater marsh and brackish saltmarsh. Breeding birds, a rich flora and invertebrates all make their home here.
The birdwatchers’ car park at the reserve is the start for this varied walk. Leaving the car park, walk west along Beach Road, lined with seaside cottages, to reach the Spey Bay wildlife reserve at the Lein. Material for the sea defences was mined here and it still bears the scars, though nature has mellowed them.
Sticking to the right-hand path, we made our way along under the shingle bank which obscures a view of the sea. Climb on top of it and the line of concrete sea defences is revealed.
There’s plenty of wildlife interest. Breeding shelduck, common and arctic terns and many species of wader can be seen from here, as well as hunting ospreys and even otters if you’re really lucky.
An amazing array of plants grow on the shingle of the Lein. In summer there’s a carpet of colour. Several types of orchids can be found here, as well as kidney vetch, a favourite of the caterpillar of Britain’s smallest butterfly – the small blue.
A little hillock with a bollard on top provides a view across the Moray Firth to the hills of Caithness. Keep an eye out for the Moray Firth dolphins too.
Half a kilometre further on, the boundary of an MOD firing range is reached. Providing the warning flag is not flying it’s possible to continue, but for the time being we turned left along the edge of a forest. At the far end a track enters the woods on the right, into the firing range zone. Today there were no warnings so we took the track through the woods heading towards Lossiemouth, unseen in the distance. This is part of the Moray Coast Trail.
Ignore a sign on the left to Binn Hill and continue as far as another sign, this time following a diagonal path up the hill.
Although mostly wooded there are some great views, though sadly part of the hill has been scarred by scramble motorbikes.
Return to the track by the same route and carry on in the Lossiemouth direction to a path on the right which cuts through the woodland to the coastal side.
From there we walked east back to the entrance to the firing range, where an observation tower provides another viewpoint and some shelter on a windy day.
Turn right, along the forest margin path, walked before. But this time look for a path on the left through trees. The path emerges from the trees to pass through gorse at the Lein and the wildlife trust reserve.
The same road through the houses takes you back to the birdwatchers’ car park.
