As well as the Castle Trail, this area also has the Coastal Trail and the Whisky Trail, which links many of the Speyside area distilleries. Turn off the A96 at Huntly on the B9022 to Portsoy and explore east to Banff and Macduff or west to Cullen along the Coastal Trail. Some of Scotland's finest fish is landed at the harbour at nearby Buckie. Rejoin the A96 at Fochabers, a lovely little town favoured by antique hunters. On the western outskirts of Fochabers, is the Baxter's Factory, where visitors can view the making of Baxter's well known soups and preserves.
Beyond Fochabers, is the elegant town of Elgin with its imposing and historic cathedral ruins and dignified Victorian town centre. West from Elgin, the A96 bypasses Forres. It's worth going through the town though to see the floral displays, which have won this town prizes in the "Scotland in Bloom" and "Britain in Bloom" competitions, and also Sueno's Stone, a huge Pictish standing stone covered in carvings. Standing hill on Cluny Hill is Nelson's Tower. On the outskirts of Forres is Benromach Distillery - the smallest working distillery in Speyside.