If you have an hour to spare and would rather not be in the car, this is where to head.
Sanquhar Pond is less than a mile from the High Street, set in a patch of woodland on the south side of town that most visitors never come across because they are not pointed in its direction. Locals are well aware of it though. It is one of Forres’ finest short walks, and for all the right reasons.
A working past
There is a serenity to the pond but don’t be taken in by it; it has always put in the work. Dug and dammed in 1900 to serve as a reservoir, it is not a natural formation. For decades it had two practical functions: cooling water for the Benromach distillery and powering the old Plasmon Mill’s machinery. The Burn of Mosset feeds it and takes its drainage back through the heart of town to Findhorn Bay, so in a manner of speaking the water before you is the same that will make its way out past the dunes to the sea.
Silting and the gradual encroachment of reeds and trees have claimed some 60 per cent of the original surface area over the years.
You could see this as a loss, or you can appreciate that it has made the place what it is now: a proper haven for wildlife with its thick reedbeds and secluded spots, irresistible to the odd roe deer or the swans that return year after year.
The whisky man and his house
You can trace the loch’s history to the family who held the land. At its peak the old Sanquhar Estate covered 2,000 acres and was in the hands of Alexander “Sandy” Edward, a distilling magnate and something of a legend in the Speyside trade. He built Dallas Dhu in 1898 with its famous pagoda roof and, with his wife Cicely, made their home at Sanquhar House above the loch until he died in 1946.
After Cicely died in 1959 it was sold off to the Altyre Estate and later demolished to make way for the housing estate you see there today. But the Edwards are not entirely absent. Their burial ground remains on a wooded hill not far off, the final resting place for Alexander, Cicely and, if you believe the records, a good few of the family dogs. It is a bit of Forres history in plain sight.
Making the walk
We like to think of this as the easy option. The paths are flat and in good order, making for a fifteen to twenty minute circuit of the loch that is as suitable for a pushchair as it is for a leisurely stroll with your coffee. There is no need to rush. Should you wish to put in a bit more miles, the waymarked trails in the adjacent Sanquhar Woodlands, under the care of the Forres Community Woodlands Trust, will take you further. They even have interpretation panels with QR codes for those wanting the details on the local fauna. Mountain bikers are out on the wider tracks too.
Getting here is trouble free with free parking at the Leisure Centre on Burdsyard Road or the small lot on Sanquhar Road, both a couple of minutes from the water. If you have the time the woodlands will connect you to Cluny Hill and Nelson’s Tower, but there is no point forcing it. Sanquhar Loch is perfectly content to be enjoyed on its own terms.
Why do it?
Some days you don’t want a grand excursion, you want somewhere close and lovely without the faff. This is it. Do the loop and you will be back on the High Street with your coffee still warm, having seen a part of Forres most tourists miss, and already thinking of when you can return for longer.