Forres is a small market town in Moray, on the southern edge of the coastal plain between Inverness and Aberdeen. It sits in a stretch of country that is unusually benign for this latitude — the town gets less rainfall than almost anywhere else in Scotland, sheltered by the hills to the south and exposed to the drying east winds that blow off the North Sea. This has made the area productive farmland for centuries and contributed to Forres's long history as a town.
The most distinctive landmark is Nelson's Tower, which stands on a wooded hill to the south of the town centre. Built in 1806 to commemorate Admiral Lord Nelson and his victory at Trafalgar, it is one of the earliest Nelson monuments in Britain. The tower has been restored and is open to visitors between May and September (afternoon hours, closed Mondays); from the top you can see across the town to Findhorn Bay and the Moray Firth. Inside, old photographs of the area share space with material about Nelson and the battle.
Forres is also the site of one of Moray's curiosities: Sueno's Stone, a Pictish carved stone standing about six metres high on the eastern edge of town, now enclosed in glass to protect it from erosion. It is one of the largest and most elaborately carved Pictish stones in Scotland and its exact meaning remains contested.