An excellent short walk of about 2 miles alongside the River Findhorn near Forres.
The walk is not particularly difficult with the option to use some steeper rockier paths for the more adventurous. The surface is pretty good, although there are some areas with rocks and tree roots so care should be taken. The path is relatively easy to follow but is not suitable for wheels of any kind.
Some sections of the path run alongside a steep drop into the river so children should be kept close.
I started the walk from the Logie Steading which has plenty of parking, a nice café and some interesting shops, as well as a play area for children. However it is possible to do a much shorter walk to Randolph's Leap by parking on the road about a half mile past the Logie Steading entrance (there is a lay-by) and only walking the last half mile from here.
Directions:
From Forres take the A940 south towards Grantown on Spey and after approximately 6 miles turn right onto the B9007. Follow the B9007 for approximately 1 ½ miles and you'll see the entrance to Logie Steading on the right.
Opposite the entrance into the steading building you will see the childrens play area, accessed by a wooden gate. Through the gate continue straight on and follow the grassy path towards the river, which turns to the left after about 100 yards. From this path there are a few smaller paths which run off to the right. Taking one of these will lead you towards the river viewpoint but the path is very steep and quite slippery (marked in red on the map). If however you continue forward to the end of the grassy path you'll see a small path which runs through the trees. This is the route I'd recommend as it is a much gentler slope and comes out at the same place as the earlier steeper paths although it does miss out a great viewpoint. Once you reach the signpost marked Randolph's Leap via B9007/Logie Steading, follow the arrow towards Randolph's Leap.
From here the path is very easy to follow and meanders through deciduous woodland in sight of the river for almost its entire length.
Eventually the path reaches the B9007 and at this point you should turn right onto the road and cross the old stone bridge. Beware of traffic here as the road is winding and the cars tend to travel quite quickly.
Follow the B9007 for approximately ¾ of a mile up the hill and you will see the lay-by on your left, with the entrance to the path to Randolph's Leap on your right through a wooden gate.
After passing through the gate the path is again well defined and leads downwards until a right turn takes you to the river. The views from here are well worth the walk and there are steps down to a platform which, although is badly positioned for viewing Randolph's Leap, offers a great view along the river. Don't forget to look out for the flood stones which mark the high point of the river during the floods of 1829.
We found some other smaller paths which led us on a roundabout route back to the road, so we didn't have to cover the same ground twice, however the first part of the route from Logie Steading to the road, offers only one option. If you've had enough of river views and bumpy paths by the time you return to the bridge, I can recommend continuing along the road as it's only a short walk back the road entrance to Logie Steading and is much easier going.
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