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  • Lossiemouth

    Lossiemouth 1

    East Lossiemouth Beach

    Lossiemouth was kind of the neighbouring village of Hopeman and I heard a lot of things about the amazing East Beach, so I definitely had to check it out.

    Lossiemouth 2

    It looked very promising but then the bridge to the beach was closed and the was no other possible way to access it. So I changed my plans and did a walk around Lossiemouth instead.

    Lossiemouth 3

    Lossiemouth is often called the “jewel of the Moray Forth”, surrounded by two stunning beaches, dunes and wonderful landscape. And a lovey town…

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    Originally the port belonged to Elgin and Lossiemouth became an important fishing town. There have been settlements in the area for around 1000 years, the current settlement developed over the last 250 years.

    The Seatown was established at the end of the 17th century when the old port at Spynie became landlocked. A succession of storms had built up large shingle banks to block the outlet of Loch Spynie to the sea. (Wikipedia)

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  • Spynie Palace

    Spynie Palace the fortified residence of the Bishops of Moray near Elgin.

    Spynie Palace – Scotland´s largest surviving medieval bishop’s house, the former residence of the Bishops of Moray for around 500 years. Used by royalty travelling the area as a guesthouse.

    Spynie Palace was for 500 years the seat of the bishops of Moray. During that time, the palace stood on the edge of Spynie Loch, a sea loch with safe anchorage for fishing boats and merchant vessels. A thriving settlement developed nearby. (Historic Enviroment Scotland)

    Spynie Palace the fortified residence of the Bishops of Moray near Elgin.

    The bishops of Moray established their residence in Spynie in the late 1100s, around 1207 Bishop Brice choose the church of Spynie as his cathedral. And even so, his successor, Bishop Andrew, built a new cathedral in the nearby Elgin, the bishops continued to live in Spynie.

    Spynie Palace the fortified residence of the Bishops of Moray near Elgin.

    David´s Tower

    The oldest surviving buildings of Spynie Palace from around 1300 are the remains of a first-floor hall and a chapel. Today it is David´s Tower that dominates the complex.

    It measures 19m by 13.5m externally and rises to a height of 22m, making it one of the largest tower houses ever built in Scotland. The great tower had a first-floor front entrance and six storeys. (Historic Enviroment Scotland)

    From the top of the tower, one has an amazing view all over the area.

    Spynie Palace the fortified residence of the Bishops of Moray near Elgin.Spynie Palace the fortified residence of the Bishops of Moray near Elgin.Spynie Palace the fortified residence of the Bishops of Moray near Elgin.

    By 1500 a new great hall was erected and two more towers added.

    The last Bishop of Moray, William Hay, was appointed in 1688. The following year an Act of Parliament ruled that the Church of Scotland should henceforth be a presbyterian church, and all existing bishops, including William Hay, lost their jobs. (Undiscovered Scotland)

    Spynie Palace the fortified residence of the Bishops of Moray near Elgin. Spynie Palace the fortified residence of the Bishops of Moray near Elgin.

    Spynie Palace the fortified residence of the Bishops of Moray near Elgin.

    The conflicts in the 17th century led to the decline of Spynie Palace and it took until the 19th century to have some preservation initiatives. Today it is under the care of the Historic Environment Scotland.

    Spynie Palace the fortified residence of the Bishops of Moray near Elgin.

  • Duffus Castle

    Duffus Castle medieval stronghold of the Moray family near Hopman at the Moray Coast.

    Duffus Castle, the medieval stronghold of the Moray family was just about two miles from my home at the Moray Coast Hopeman. It is known as one of Scotland´s finest motte and bailey castles.

    Mottes were common in Scotland the 1100s and 1200s, before they were replaced by stone castles. They were fortifications, usually consisting of a wooden keep on top of an artificial earthwork mound. Some also had an enclosed courtyard or bailey, containing additional wooden buildings, protected by a ditch and palisade. (Historic Enviroment Scotland)

    Duffus Castle medieval stronghold of the Moray family near Hopman at the Moray Coast.

    The castle we see today was built in the 1300s, replacing an earlier timber fortress and felt to ruin after it was abandoned in 1705. Duffus Castle is situated on the Laich of Moray, which became a very fertile area after Spynie Loch and the surrounding marshland had been drained. 

    The motte is a huge man-made mound, with steep sides and a wide ditch separating it from the bailey. The whole site is enclosed by a water-filled ditch, which is more a mark of its boundary than it is a serious defensive measure. (Historic Enviroment Scotland)

    Duffus Castle had been built by Freskin, a Flemish man who was sent there by King David I in 1130 to represent the crown. He built an earthwork-and-timber castle on the Duffus estate. His son William took the title of ‘de Moravia’, the meaning “of Moray”. By 1200 the Moray family had become the noblest and influential family in northern Scotland.

    Duffus Castle medieval stronghold of the Moray family near Hopman at the Moray Coast.

    Around 1270 the castle passed Sir Reginald Cheyne the Elder, Lord of Inverugie, who probably built the square stone keep on top of the motte and the walls around the courtyard. By 1350 the castle belonged to a younger son of the Earl of Sutherland through marriage, by then the stone square probably had started to slip down the mound and a new residence was built in the north of the courtyard. 

    At the end of the 17th century, Lord Duffus moved to Duffus House and Duffus Castle fell into decay.

    Duffus Castle medieval stronghold of the Moray family near Hopman at the Moray Coast.

    Duffus Castle medieval stronghold of the Moray family near Hopman at the Moray Coast.

    Duffus Castle medieval stronghold of the Moray family near Hopman at the Moray Coast.Duffus Castle medieval stronghold of the Moray family near Hopman at the Moray Coast.Duffus Castle medieval stronghold of the Moray family near Hopman at the Moray Coast.Duffus Castle medieval stronghold of the Moray family near Hopman at the Moray Coast.