[8] The Findhorn rises in the Coignafearn Forest north of the main massif of the Monadhliath Mountains, several streams joining together near the Dalbeg bothy to form it.

Some 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) downstream beyond the cliffs of Creag Dubh the valley takes on a definitely wooded appearance, although the surrounding hills remain bare heather moor.

Here the river takes its only major bend, a lazy S-shape over a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) stretch at the end of which the Funtack Burn, which drains Loch Moy to the north, joins the Findhorn's left bank.

This stream is only about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) long, being formed by the confluence of the Rhilean and Leonach Burns, which flow through moorland before cascading down narrow gorges and over waterfalls in their final sections.

Here the Findhorn turns northwards and flows through a sinuous and narrow gorge with Glenferness House on the right bank and the Ardclach bell tower on the left, after which it reverts to a generally north-westerly course once it passes under the A939 bridge.

The Divie's head waters lie in the hills to the south of the prominent Knock of Braemoray, and shortly before its confluence with the Findhorn it is itself joined by the Dorback Burn, which is fed by Lochindorb.

[9] Hereafter the waters provide kayaking opportunities for the experienced for the next 4 kilometres (2.5 mi)[5] Further downstream the Findhorn passes Logie House, the ruined hill fort of Dun Earn,[c] Sluie Walk where it crosses the 100 metres (330 ft) contour, the Altyre estate and the Meads of St John before reaching the hamlet of Mundole just outside the town of Forres, which is by far the largest settlement on the river's route.

This is a large tidal basin and at low water the river is joined by the Muckle, Mosset and Kinloss Burns as it flows unimpeded over its sands.

[11][9] During the Caledonian orogeny, some 500 mya, much of the land that is now northern Scotland was subject to folding and metamorphosis and then intruded with granite magma which contributed to the uplift of the area and ultimately the creation of the Grampian mountains of which the Monadliaths that form the head waters of the river Findhorn are a part.

[12] The bedrock of the upper Findhorn is largely made up of the Grampian Division of the Moine Supergroup, a formation that stretched from south of Forres to Lochindorb and beyond.

[14] During the Tertiary period some 65–50 mya volcanic activity on what is now the west coast of Scotland resulted in considerable uplift there and the creation of the slope that dips in an easterly direction that the modern Findhorn river follows.

The melting of the ice, which occurred comparatively rapidly, resulted in "vast volumes of meltwater" creating further erosional and depositional features, such as river terraces in the middle reaches of the Findhorn[16] and moraines such as the Cluny hills downstream.

[28] Although 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) downstream Dun Earn lies about 20 metres (66 ft) higher than Doune of Relugas and encloses a larger area.

Perhaps the most notorious resident of the Findhorn valley was Alexander Stewart, the Wolf of Badenoch, who was based at the castle and who burned Forres, Pluscarden Abbey and Elgin in 1390.

[37] In the wake of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion the French brigantine Le Bien Trouvé slipped past a British blockade in March 1746 into Findhorn Bay.

On the night of 6 April the Frenchman slipped out again carrying Bonnie Prince Charlie's aide-de-camp Richard Warren and escaped safely to Dunkirk.

[40] Based on the eyewitness accounts recorded by Sir Thomas Dick Lauder (who was also the author of a romantic history about the life of the "Wolf of Badenoch") were able to determine peak flows down the main river of up to 1,484 m3/s and 451 m3/s on the Divie.

[41] Lauder describes numerous incidents including the daring rescues of those trapped by the floods on the plain of Forres by fishermen from Findhorn village.

[23] During the early 21st century Moray Council undertook a flood prevention scheme on the Mosset Burn to protect the town of Forres up to a standard of a 1 in 100 years event.

[33] The Universal Hall is an arts and conference centre at Findhorn Ecovillage that enjoys a stained glass window by American artist James Hubbel.

[54] The neighbouring: We ne'er shall tread the fancy-haunted valley, Where 'tween the dark hills creeps the small clear stream, In arms around the patriarch banner rally, Nor see the moon on royal tombstones gleam When the bold kindred, in the time long vanish'd, Conquered the soil and fortified the keep, No seer foretold the children would be banish'd That a degenerate lord might boast his sheep.