Burghead / Hopeman

Beach-blessed Burghead was the ancient Pictish capital of Moray. Hopeman is a coastal fishing village to the east.

Burghead was, before the imposition of the town in 1805-9, a tightly packed grid of streets on the natural promontory - the site of an important Iron Age fort and the ancient Pictish capital of Moray.

The headland tip of the town is still pocked with the scant remains of early defences, including two earth ramparts just off Bath Street, upon which an eerie burnt-out pillar sits. This is where the Clavie -a burning tar barrel still carried around the town on January 11 to mark the old calendar's new year - ends its annual journey. From the harbour, a wide sweep of sandy beach stretches five miles around Burghead Bay to Findhorn.