About Darnaway – Leafy Heights
Darnaway Forest in Moray is a historic estate woodland featuring large conifer plantations and significant areas of mature broadleaf forest. Managed in part for conservation and estate activities, it contains wide gravel tracks, open rides, and estate roads.
Terrain is gently undulating and typical of lowland Moray. Surfaces are mainly firm, well-maintained forestry aggregate with some natural earth sections in older woodland.
Course Description
The race starts at a junction to 4 trails in the forest with a triangle in the middle. The start & finish(s) are all very close together & we want to get as many people parked down at the triangle as possible. Anyone parking around the triangle will be asked to put out stakeout lines in the parts of the forest next to it so as not to loose a parking place.
The rest of the parking will be along the trail as you drive in on the LEFT only – please pull over to allow teams to get back to the vans. Do not turn vehicles around as there will be a one way system out of the forest through the 6 dog finish. This trail goes back on to the main road will be kept clear for emergency vehicles.
Trail Distance: 2.5
Terrain: A network of forest trails with plenty of twists and turns & hills…note* there will be a lot of hills! We also make you survive death by running you along a cliff edge, aka the infamous Leafy Heights!
The surface alternates between hard packed (normally covered in a layer of leaves), mud, sand and grass.
Directions
From the North (Inverness and Highlands)
Travel south on the A9 toward Inverness, then take the turn for the A96 eastbound toward Nairn and Forres. Continue following the A96 past Nairn. As you approach Forres, take the turn for Brodie / Dyke / Darnaway (signed Brodie Countryfare). From here, follow signs for Dyke and then Darnaway, where several forest access points branch from the estate roads heading south into the woodland.
This route keeps you on the main dual carriageway and trunk road network until the final few miles of quiet rural roads.
From the South (Perth, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee)
Take the A9 northbound toward Inverness. Continue past Aviemore and Carrbridge until you reach the turn for A95 / A939 / Grantown-on-Spey. Follow the A95 then join the A939 towards Forres. Just before Forres, take the local turn signed for Dyke / Kintessack, which leads directly toward the Darnaway estate. Forest access tracks and parking areas are located along the estate roads that run west and south of Dyke.
Alternatively, you can remain on the A9 until Inverness and join the A96 eastbound, which is simpler for larger vehicles.
Postcode: IV36 2ST
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Past Events
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Total Events
Upcoming Darnaway – Leafy Heights events
March 2027
SDAS Race 6
Sat 6th Mar '27- Sun 7th Mar '27
