Top Hidden Gems Day Trips from Elgin
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The top Hidden Gems Day Trips from Elgin include Spynie Palace, Sculptor's Cave, Burghead Well, Sueno's Stone, Dulsie Bridge, Mermaid of the North, Portmahomack Dolphin Viewpoint and Macfarquhar's Bed.
Sitting at the heart of Moray, Elgin makes a fine base for exploring a stretch of coast and country thick with ancient stones, sea caves and quiet corners. Some lie close at hand: Spynie Palace stands just north of the town, while along the Moray Firth shore to the north-west you will find the Sculptor's Cave near Covesea and the mysterious Burghead Well.
A little to the west, Sueno's Stone towers over the edge of Forres. Others make a proper day-trip.
Head inland toward Nairn for the pools below Dulsie Bridge, or strike across into Easter Ross for the Mermaid of the North at Balintore and the dolphin-watching seafront at Portmahomack on the Tarbat peninsula. Farthest of all, over on the Black Isle, Macfarquhar's Bed hides on the coast near Cromarty.
Some are a stroll, others a scenic drive, but each rewards the effort. Here are eight hidden gems for a day trip from Elgin.
Spynie Palace
Photo: Des Colhoun via Geograph.org.uk
Spynie Palace Just a couple of miles north of Elgin stand the ruins of Spynie Palace, once the stronghold of the bishops of Moray and, long ago, set beside a sea loch that has since been drained. Its great survivor is David's Tower, a massive stone tower house of the fifteenth century and among the largest in Scotland, which you can climb for wide views over the countryside and the Moray Firth.
Around it run the walls of the courtyard and other buildings. Bishops lived here for centuries, and kings and queens came to visit, before the place was finally abandoned.
Historic Environment Scotland now cares for it.
Sculptor's Cave
Photo: Ken Ross via Geograph.org.uk
Sculptor’s Cave hides a long and unsettling past in the cliffs at Covesea, on the Moray Firth coast between Lossiemouth and Burghead. Two long passages run in from the shore to a single large chamber, and near the entrance the walls carry Pictish symbols, fish, crescents and a mirror among them, cut around the sixth or seventh century.
Older still are the finds from excavation: the cave served as a place of ritual and burial in the late Bronze Age and the Roman iron age, including the remains of children. Reaching it means walking the shore from Lossiemouth over slippery rocks, and only when the tide is well out.
Burghead Well
Photo: Darren Haddock via Geograph.org.uk
Burghead Well In the little coastal town of Burghead, a strange underground chamber lies cut deep into the rock, within what was once a great Pictish fort. A flight of rock-hewn steps leads down into a square stone room, dim and cool, with a tank of clear water fed from below.
It was rediscovered in 1809 as the old town was being rebuilt, and nobody is quite sure what it was for: a Pictish shrine, a holy well, an early Christian baptistery. The promontory fort that once stood here, one of the largest in Pictish Scotland, was later destroyed, yet the well endures.
Fetch the key and descend into this eerie place.
Sueno's Stone
Photo: Nigel Brown via Geograph.org.uk
Sueno's Stone A short drive west toward Forres brings you to Sueno's Stone, the tallest and most elaborate carved stone of its kind in Scotland, rising over six metres on the edge of the town. Cut from a single slab of sandstone more than a thousand years ago, in the Pictish or Pictish-Scottish age, it bears a great ringed cross with panels of interlace on one face and, on the other, rank upon rank of figures that seem to show a battle, with rows of warriors and heaps of the slain.
To shield it from the weather it now stands within a glass and steel case. It is a free, open site.
Dulsie Bridge
Photo: Richard Webb via Geograph.org.uk
Dulsie Bridge Worth the longer run inland toward Nairn, Dulsie Bridge is an old military-road bridge flinging a single high arch over the River Findhorn. Built in the 1750s, it stands well above deep, still pools where the river runs green between the crags.
In summer those pools and a small sandy shore below draw wild swimmers and picnickers, and a layby by the bridge gives an easy way down to the water. It is a genuine day-trip from Elgin, but the setting, a high arch above a rocky gorge, more than repays the drive out into this quiet corner of the countryside.
Mermaid of the North
Photo: David Bremner via Geograph.org.uk
Mermaid of the North Cross over into Easter Ross for the Mermaid of the North, a bronze statue perched on a shoreline boulder at Balintore, gazing out over the Moray Firth. The metal has weathered to a soft green patina, and you can reach her across the rocks when the tide is out, though at high water the sea rises around her tail so she seems to emerge from the waves.
This bronze went up in 2014, replacing an earlier figure of 2007 that a storm had damaged. Made by a local artist, it draws on the old tale of a captured mermaid who marries a local man before slipping back to the sea.
Portmahomack Dolphin Viewpoint
Photo: Andrew Wood via Geograph.org.uk
Portmahomack Dolphin Viewpoint Out on the Tarbat peninsula in Easter Ross, the little fishing village of Portmahomack curls around a sandy bay and a stone harbour, and it is unusual among east-coast villages in facing west across the Dornoch Firth. The seafront makes a grand spot for wildlife watching, since the village sits within a protected part of the Moray Firth where bottlenose dolphins, porpoises and sometimes whales pass offshore.
Thomas Telford laid out the harbour, and a heritage centre tells the story of the Picts who once lived here. A few miles on at the tip of the headland stands the Tarbat Ness lighthouse.
A rewarding day-trip from Elgin.
Macfarquhar's Bed
Photo: Julian Paren via Geograph.org.uk
Macfarquhar's Bed The farthest of the bunch, Macfarquhar's Bed is a rocky cove on the South Sutor headland, a couple of miles along the coast from Cromarty on the Black Isle. Cliffs enclose a small bay where a natural arch has been carved through the rock, with a cave alongside and the ruined huts of an old salmon-fishing station down at the shore.
You reach it on a coastal walk from Cromarty, the path dropping steeply through a beech avenue to the sea, with views over the Cromarty Firth where dolphins are often spotted. The name comes down from a smuggling tale whose details are long since lost.
A fine day-trip finale.
FAQs
How far are these gems from Elgin?
They range from Spynie Palace, just north of Elgin, out to Macfarquhar's Bed near Cromarty on the Black Isle, some 41 kilometres away. The nearer coastal sites suit a short trip, the farthest a full day.
Which spots are best for seeing dolphins?
The seafront at Portmahomack, out on the Tarbat peninsula, is well placed for bottlenose dolphins in the Moray Firth, while dolphins are also often seen from the coast near Cromarty at Macfarquhar's Bed.
Do I need to plan around the tides?
For a couple of these, yes. The Sculptor's Cave near Lossiemouth can only be reached over the rocks when the tide is well out, and the Mermaid of the North at Balintore is easiest to visit at low water.
Conclusion
From a bishop's ruined tower on Elgin's doorstep to a bronze mermaid far along the Easter Ross shore, this corner of the north-east packs an extraordinary amount into a small map. Nearby gems like Spynie Palace, the Sculptor's Cave and Burghead Well can be strung together in a single coastal outing, while Sueno's Stone makes an easy stop on the way to Forres.
Save the wild pools of Dulsie Bridge, the Tarbat peninsula and the cove near Cromarty for a longer day when you fancy a scenic drive. Bring sturdy shoes, keep an eye on the tides for the caves and coves, and let curiosity lead the way: these are the hidden gems for a day trip from Elgin.
