LATEST RAMBLE

6th December Culloden Battlefield and Christmas Lunch.

The Last Meal at Culloden.

This year's Christmas trip was to the battlefield at Culloden and although we had thought that we may have dined in the new visitor's centre in fact with the opening slightly behind schedule we were more than adequately fed by the staff in what was to be one the last meals served at the old centre. The staff who had all been newly trained for their new accommodation served us our Christmas Fare well.

Trust me of course to start a trip review with the details of the food rather than the ramble itself but indeed with my very limited knowledge of the battle I found Anthony Bryant's talk and information very informative. He dispelled much of the myths of Scotland versus England being the only theme and in leading our party around the accessible paths he was able to narrate to us how the Scots Rebels fate was doomed almost from the start. Despite choosing the venue (perhaps badly advised) after having almost carried out a night time attack on the Duke's troops in Nairn. The ill prepared and ill fed followers of Prince Charlie took up their lines over an uneven field facing the superior fire power of Cumberland's troops.

There are many ifs and buts relating to the battle and there is no doubt that the one sided slaughter that occurred was perhaps not the expected outcome.

As we carried on around our ramble we could appreciate from the Rebel side how difficult the Scottish charge would be of about 600 metres. The result of the battle was obvious after about 45 minutes when many of the Rebels began to flee.

This was a most enjoyable trip with us benefiting from our most knowledgeable guide who despite deteriorating weather managed to get us around without too much discomfort.

Afterwards as already said we enjoyed a lovely Christmas meal and we now look forward to experiencing the new centre which duly opened the following week.

Our thanks to our guide, and to Martin who was driver in Charge and for the other committee members who organised the arrangements for lunch.

Glenmore Forest Park - Between Two Worlds - an event held on 1/11/07

Nine of us met up at Glenmore Lodge near Coylumbridge for the evening event held by Inverness Forest District of Forestry Commission Scotland during the Year of Highland Culture 2007.

The weather had been showery but held out to be a mostly dry evening with just an odd light shower.  Everyone was well wrapped up and we were all enthusiastic to set off.

David Jardine the Forestry District Manager welcomed us and told us a little of what we were to expect.  The Between Two Worlds spectacle had cost a total of £300,000 to stage the event and the finance came from grants from various bodies such as Forestry Commission, Highland 2007, SNH, HIE, The Highland Council, touchwood and from ticket sales. 

The event was created by Diane Maclean, a sculptor and environmental artist, with Malcolm Innes who is a light and sound artist and Bob Pegg, a musician from the Black Isle, who composed the music.  It is held in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park and is said to celebrate the beauty and mystery of Glenmore Forest Park..

We were all led on our walk by Forest Ranger: Miranda Whitcombe from Glenmore and her colleague Shona Amos from Inverness.  Everyone was given an event programme, which told us that Between Two Worlds had been inspired by the people, wildlife, landscape and stories of this place.  We were also given a ‘light stick’ which could be made into a ‘glow band’ and which was to be worn by everyone – some wore it around their neck, some even put it around their hats – the author wore it around his bald head and looked a bit of an idiot!

At first some of us were a little confused as to what “Between Two Worlds” was all about, but reading the programme it explained that the 2 worlds are ‘the world of myth and mystery – the belief in the faerie folk’ and ‘the past and present world of the wild lands of Glenmore – being a great place for Scotland’s unique wildlife’

We were held up a couple of times with gremlins in the lighting circuits – or was it faeries?  Some members said it gave them ‘second wind’ as we were moving at quite a steady pace and the rest was a welcome respite.  The electricians managed to reactivate some of the lights that were out and we were treated to a spectacle of the ‘magic tree’ with Bob Pegg’s ethereal music accompanying lights eternally circling the tree – it was a magical sight and quite mesmerising.

Permeating the forest was also the eerie call of the wolf pack and the night sounds of the forest including the haunting call of the tawny owl and the screetch of the barn owl.

About a mile up the track, which has been transformed into a wonderful road surface by Forestry Commission, we came upon The Green Lochan.  Here we took our places on a specially constructed platform, with a lower section for pedestrians and a higher section for wheelchairs and scooters.  We were entertained by the stunning water effects of fountains of coloured water, created by Aquabatics, with music and there was also a dramatic lighting display with fast-moving searchlights that lit up the forest wonderfully.

All too soon, or so it seemed, we had to retrace our steps, or rather the scooters did but some of the ambulant members were able to take the steps down and follow ‘the river of light’ which gave a spectacular show of light along the duck-boarding to a junction further back along the way we had come.

The event officially opened to the public the next evening and we had been some of the invited guests and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Our thanks go to Peter who drove the van, to Elspeth who assisted Peter and had organised the evening for us and to Inverness Forest District for inviting HDR to be the disabled guinea pigs. 

MF

SATURDAY 6 OCTOBER 2007 Ferry Wood, Lairg.

 Highland Council Ranger Ian Paterson led a most interesting walk in Ferry Wood, starting at Ferrycroft Countryside Centre, Lairg.  14 members attended.  The area is well known as an archaeological site. On this occasion we concentrated on the present day.   

Ian's enthusiasm was infectious and we were all soon looking for fungi specimens, of which there were many examples throughout the walk.  Two ponds have been created to encourage wild life.  On one of them stands a very much larger-than-life wooden sculpture of two dragonflies and at the pond side a large frog in the same material. 

The walk follows the shores of Little Loch Shin and almost reaches a view of the hydro-electric dam which holds back the 23-mile long Loch Shin, creating the energy to power the Inveran power station turbines. 

There were many felled trees on the walk, which prompted a lesson from Martin on how to cut the trees to make them fall where you want them to!  Ian found a very small dead adder, also droppings of pine marten and otter. 

After the walk we returned to the Countryside Centre for lunch and a look at the exhibits and displays. The Centre was developed by Sutherland District Council with help from a number of other organisations.

The weather was good, and in the afternoon the sun shone. Visiting families used the picnic seating and tables outside the Centre and the local young people played football.  It was a good time of the year to visit Ferry Wood with its opportunities for a fungus foray. The autumn colours, particularly on the journey to Lairg, were striking. 

We thank Ian for his excellent guidance, and Martin and Elspeth for the safe arrival of the scooters.

 M.A.

Report on Highland Disabled Ramblers Visit to Highland Folk Museum Newtonmore on Wednesday 5^th September.

Apologies for the late posting of Ramble Reports but we hope to have this service appearing closer to the events. It is hoped to the have the report of the evening event at Glenmore posted in the near future failing that it should appear with a report of the Christmas Ramble shortly after that event on the 6th December. 

This was a good turnout of 8 scooters 7 club and Sheila on her own machine and a total of 17 members on a day where the weather was dodgy to begin with but turned out to be quite pleasant as the day went on. The group duly met up just after opening time of 11 am and it was agreed that the members on this occasion would do their own thing meeting back at the café for lunch around 12.30pm.

For some of those making their first visit getting orientated to the lay out of the site and the size was an issue but soon the scooters and walkers were off in various directions visiting the buildings and sites through out the place. There is plenty to see and too much to individually report here but I will just comment on a couple of the areas. The farm, post office and farm bothy all sited at the North end of the site together with the railway waiting room very easily transports you back to your younger days and for me sitting in the waiting room took me back to my childhood days of waiting around local stations.

Some of us were a little excited by the prospect of seeing a tractor and “binder” being hooked up but alas we were told that cutting would take place next day.

A new addition next to the Post Office is the Sweet Shop and perhaps it was very helpful to me that I visited before it opened at 1pm although I did later sample some of  the products. Alas these sweets were at modern day prices!

One of the advantages of the Museum is that biggish parties like ours can go around together or go our own way.

The group met up for lunch in the café. I thought the food was very good although the women behind the counter struggled with the lunchtime rush.

Visits to the classroom with its teacher and to the settlement are essential and in my opinion the highlights of trips here but I am sure that each visitor will have their favourite. The settlement has been developed although on our visit only two buildings were open.

A nice alternative although not suitable for the scooters on return from the settlement was a walk through the woods passed the curling pond.

Throughout the day there seemed to be plenty of craic within the group and Ruth from Portmahomack even bumped into a women who lived in the same street as she did many years ago in Fraserburgh.

On the practical side there is still a major problem with disabled toilets at the main block in that scooters cannot make the  sharp turns and some of the area throughout the site is steep and grassy covered which requires care on the part of the scooter drivers.

It seemed to me that most of those attending enjoyed the day and perhaps a measure of its success was the amount of people who had returned for a second visit.

The van drivers for the day were myself and Martin accompanied and pleasantly supervised by Margaret.

Allan Lemon

6^th September.