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Aviation has played an important role in the life of the narrow coastal belt which fringes the north-facing shores of the Moray Firth, centred on Moray the area between the rolling fields of Nairn in the west and the often bleak east corner around Kinnaird Head has played host to both civilian and military airmen and women from the earliest days of flying.

But it was not until the threat of conflict came in the build up to World War II that the strategic importance of this relatively flat part of Northern Scotland as airfield territory reached real maturity.

Thanks to the surprisingly kind weather along the Moray Firth coast and its easily worked topography it became ideal as a place to build airfields.

Most of those wartime sites are now silent. While the major RAF bases at Kinloss and Lossiemouth retain the vibrant sight and sound of front line military operations the majority of the Moray Firth's airfields became redundant many years ago. For a fleeting moment some held on to their rich aviation past with light aviation and gliding.

But in most cases only the echoes of a once busy past and their memories remain.

The Moray Firth Aviation Trail has been written and compiled by local aviation historians Jim Hughes and David Morgan to encourage visitors and local enthusiasts to explore and enjoy this fascinating aviation heritage and ensure the evocative sites which saw so much flying action are not forgotten.

• This Aviation Trail is published by the Fresson Trust which was formed in the name of famous Scottish civil aviation pioneer, the late captain Ted Fresson, to keep the history of aviation in the North alive, build an archive and help young people in the area gain a foothold in an aviation career by awarding bursaries. Part of the proceeds from this guide will go to assist the Fresson Trust in their aims.

You can view the separate pages of the aviation trail by clicking on the next icon. Copies of the full trail are also available for download in Word and Adobe Acrobat format - just click on the relevant icon which is shown on each page of the trail.