Delnies Wood Nairn.

Delnies Wood is situated between Inverness and the town of Nairn. A number 10 bus from out side the camp will get you to the bus station at Inverness in approximately 35 minutes and the capital of the Highlands is always worth a visit. 

The wood, also known as Moss-Side Wood, provides some enjoyable walks with clear footpaths. Because of the wet weather the paths become a wee bit mushy, but still are negotiable and an idyllic place to enjoy a woodland walk.

Nairn Camping and Caravanning Club Site is going through a series of renovations which has forced the closure of the facilities block and has been replaced by two well equipped porta cabins, that to be honest are kept very clean. But it is difficult because the camp site is located in the middle of pine trees therefore the whole camp site is knee deep with pine needles and they get everywhere! Also it does not help that there are no hardstandings and no made up roadways. The other problem is that it borders the busy  A96 so can be quite noisy. 

Nairn is a place we have not visited before and can be reached by a 10 mile circular walk. The outgoing journey can be done along the shore which has a very long sandy beach and lends itself a very enjoyable experience . Our return was through the town to connect, with care, back on to the forest paths across the very busy main A96.

Nairn, situated at the mouth of the River Nairn, was at one time a very important fishing port. When the railway arrived in 1855 it developed  as holiday resort with its fine climate, sandy beaches, covered swimming pool and two 18 hole golf courses. Like many other towns in Scotland it now suffers from the blight of closed and charity shops. Which even Edinburgh main shopping street suffers from! 

Weather had not been good to us so we decided to catch that number 10 bus, i previously spoke about, into Inverness. Having been there only a few years ago we did not visit the towns many tourist attractions - except you can’t come here and not visit Leakeys Bookshop. Established in 1979 and housed in in the old Gaelic Church, it is Scotlands largest secondhand bookshop and is reputed to hold over 100,000 books (although i didn't count them). We finished the day, before catching the bus back, with a very enjoyable stroll along the River Ness stopping only for our piece. 

Our last day was spent cycling  the 11 miles to Culloden Moor and its visitors centre - a pilgrimage for all lovers of Jacobite History. It was here on the 16th April 1746 that the last battle to be fought on British soil took place between the highland army of Charles Edward Stewart and the Government forces of the bloody Duke of Cumberland. Unfortunately the Prince lost and Scotland was changed forever. In the summary report produced by the National Trust for Scotland it is underlined that “Culloden Moor is at the heart our culture and spiritual identity as a Scottish nation. If we stand back and allow its demise through inappropriate development, future generations will never understand or forgive us” 

We probable would not revisit the camp site if for no other reason than the pine needles were a nightmare to get off the Motorhome when we finally arrived back home.