Family Day Out
Simple fun at the seaside! Ice creams and beaches, play parks and woods. Fun needn’t cost a fortune!
This simple itinerary is suitable for all ages and abilities and can be varied to suit your interests.
Starting near the East Beach, build dens and look for squirrels in the woods, then head back into town for an ice cream. Play in the park, try crabbing at the marina, then an afternoon on the beach at West Beach.
If that sounds like your idea of a perfect day out, read on!
Park at the East Beach car park
The official name for this is Gregory Place Car Park, but everyone knows it as the East Beach Car Park. Parking is free.
If arriving by bus, get off by the Police Station/Lossiemouth House B&B.
Walk up the old railway line into the woods.
With your back to the sea and the canal on your left, follow the road round to the left.
After about 50m, you see a sign for Imlach Way, a new housing development.
Just beyond the entrance to Imlach way is a wide flat path, heading left.
This is the old railway line that connected Lossiemouth to Elgin from 1852 until 1966. See Heritage for more info on the railway.
You can still walk to Elgin, although the path becomes uneven after leaving Lossiemouth. See Walking and Cycling pages for further information.
On your right as you walk up the path, you’ll see Grant Park, home of Lossiemouth FC. If it’s a Saturday afternoon you may even catch a glimpse of a game.
A further 100m on (just past the dog poo bin), there’s a sandy path to take you into the forest. If you have a buggy or bikes, it’s easier to continue 250m or so, where there are easier paths into the forest.
Build dens and spot squirrels in the woods
This spot is a favourite for children, with lots of easy climbing trees and fallen branches to build dens. Lossiemouth’s beautiful pine forests are within easy access of the town and stretch for miles.
Look out for red squirrels above, and listen for woodpeckers and other woodland birds.
The paths are woodland trails, fine for off road buggies and basic bikes. It’s relatively flat underfoot until you reach the cemetery when the path becomes steep and uneven in places.
Head back to the Esplanade for an ice cream
Retrace your steps to the car park, continue on to the Esplanade, which is the seafront facing the East Beach. The river is the Lossie, which rises in Dallas, south of Elgin, a total distance of about 30 miles.
Get your ice creams from one of the traditional ice cream shops, there has been Italian ice cream in Lossie for over 100 years!
Now you’ve got your ice cream, take a seat and gaze across at the East Beach. (Come back for a full day’s play on the East Beach another day, there’s still lots more to see!)
In front of you is a new bridge, built in 2022 to replace the iconic old wooden bridge that had stood for over 100 years (upstream to your right). It was condemned and closed in 2019 and the deck removed for safety. The wooden pillars have been left for wildlife, look out for the heron!
Play in Station Park
Station Park is so called as it’s built on the site of the old railway station. The landscaped gardens feature many of the original sleepers from the railway.
There is a playpark here, suitable for smaller children, and a lookout point with an information board all about the East Beach.
Go crabbing at the marina
Did you bring a crabbing net? The ice cream shops sell them if not. Pop in some bacon and dangle a line for crabs, there are some big ones in the Marina! Remember to place them back (gently!) when you’ve finished.
For food and drink, or to stock up on picnic items, there are cafes and shops along the esplanade, Marina and on Queen Street.
Move to the West Beach for picnics, rock pooling & sandcastles
West Beach is less than a mile away, an easy walk along Shore Street, although if you have younger children you may wish to get the car and drive over.
Very different to the golden East Beach, the West Beach is a favourite with local families and dog walkers.
Parking is free. At the far end there are marked disabled parking spots.
On busy summer days, it may be easier to park a short distance away and walk in as the access road is narrow and spaces are limited. There is a bus stop on Stotfield Road, near the golf club.
The café serves ice creams, breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are public toilets in the café.
At low tide, there are excellent rock pools near the old sea defences, with hermit crabs, even starfish and sea anemones.
In front of the car park is a small bay protected by a natural reef, a favourite spot for swimming, although it can be deep at high tide. Check tide tables and stay within your ability.
See the Active Day Out page for information on watersports on the West Beach.
Walk along the beach to explore the caves under the lighthouse
An easy stroll at low tide, at high tide there is a rough path through the dunes. It’s around 2.5km (1.5 miles) from the car park to the lighthouse.
Beneath the lighthouse are a series of large caves, great for exploring!
If you prefer, you can drive to the lighthouse, there is free parking at the Heritage Centre. There is no scheduled bus service to the lighthouse.
directory of services
Follow the link below to find a full listing of all LBA member businesses across every sector.
In time, this will be expanded to include a brief listing of non-member businesses to provide a complete information resource for our visitors.
If the service that you require is not listed in this directory, use your preferred search engine to find them.

Getting Here
Lossiemouth is on the Moray coast, approximately 40 miles east of Inverness and 70 miles northwest of Aberdeen. The A96 is the main road between these two cities.
Travelling by bus or train, head to Elgin for a connecting bus service to Lossiemouth.