History
The Dava Way follows the trackbed of the old Highland Railway line between Grantown-on-Spey and Forres. The line opened in 1863 as part of a route between Inverness and Perth, and closed in 1965.
The Dava Way Association was formed in 1997 to turn the trackbed into a walking and cycling path, and Bruno Crawley is recognised as the 'Father' of the Way. Volunteers secured landowners' consent and cleared fallen trees and vegetation, and a donated footbridge replaced a missing railway bridge over the Altyre Burn. The Way was officially opened in 2005.
It is still managed and maintained by the Dava Way Association, a volunteer-run charity that receives no formal public funding.
Sources: Dava Way Association: About us; Dava Way (official site); Scotland's Great Trails: Dava Way; Wikipedia: Dava Way
Facts
- Code
- UK 028 (provisional)
- Distance
- 24.0 miles (38.6 km). We measure 23.6 miles
- Type
- Linear
- Opened
- 2005
- Designation
- One of Scotland's Great Trails
- Looked after by
- NatureScot (Scotland's Great Trails) / Dava Way Association
- Nations
- Scotland
- Total ascent
- Still to be measured