| A windy day, but dry, and another
good turnout: Francis, Holly, Matthew A., Mathew E., Megan,
and Robbie L. with six adults, Frances, Philippa, Richard
l., Sandra and Tom and Ellie once more active in the early
stages.
We parked at the Scardoish lay-by, where the telephone box
used to be, and went down the track to look at the old generator
house before climbing back to look at the building which was
once a sawmill and now houses the fish hatchery.
Then the proper expedition started: we climbed the stile and
examined the fine Sitka spruce tree growing at the back of
the field. As we crossed the field everyone could see the
iron water pipe beside the path. After the gate we saw the
sawmill dam and then the alder plantation which the Gamie
had helped to plant in the 1920s. Around this stage, the explorers
could see the cracks in the iron pipe caused by the water
freezing. Sandra found a stone pipe pier with ‘1947’
written in the mortar on the top.
Pushing on up the path we reached the big rock across the
burn, said by Father Charles MacDonald to have been called
‘Aite Suidhe vich ish Alain’ (Allan’s Seat?,
Allan being the Clanranald Chief who was said to have sat
there before leaving Moidart in 1715, to die later at Sherrifmuir).
We didn’t wait, but pushed on into the strong wind until
we reached the top dam, where we got our breaths back before
heading further up the hill on our left.
At the top of this rise we paused again, getting a view of
the lochan called Lochan Sandy, after the late Sandy MacDonald.
Then climbed the hill to a point where we could see across
to the Glenuig road. Here we stopped for a wafer break and
a photograph. There was another attempt to fly the Livett
kite, but it wouldn’t play this time.
After a rest we carried on to the top of the hill where we
found ourselves in a larch wood above Dorlin Square. Here,
I confess, my navigation failed me and we took a right turn
instead of a left and wasted a bit of time descending to a
point where only Indiana Jones could have got down. Nothing
for it but to climb back up and find the right path, which
we eventually did and managed to get back down the slope to
the pipeline where it was a short walk to the cars. The Blue
Parrot was never so welcome. I picked out Matthew Evans’
drawing of a stark dead tree out on the hill.
John
Dye
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