Bridging the gap

This is a catch-up post from a walk in upper Donside in the second half of April.  Lorna, Allan and I have explored many of the area's tracks, especially when Covid restrictions limited the distance we could travel.

We decided on a linear walk from Corgarff at the foot of the Lecht road down to Bellabeg in Strathdon.  By the A944 road this isn't a particularly long route but we intended to use parts of altogether older roads.  We would also link a series of bridges which have historical interest - the "bridge" theme would continue in that our route would bridge a gap between walking routes we know well.

 

We set off on a lovely Spring morning, heading SE from Ordgarff along the track which is signed as "Old Military Road".  This simple statement has a deal of history behind it because this is a section of road built between 1748 and 1757 as part of  a massive roadbuilding and infrastructure project following the 18th century Jacobite rebellions.

That said, the first of the bridges isn't typical of the "Wade Bridge", being a graceful, slender arch over the Allt Damh - seemingly defying gravity! 

Just under 2km further along the track is Delavine Bridge.  This is much more representative of the bridge construction on the 18th century military roads.  Delavine was one of three bridges repaired and stabilised over three years from 1997 to 2000 to keep these scheduled monuments intact.  A plaque on Delavine bridge records the work, placed on the outer parapet where it is particularly difficult to read without standing in the burn itself!  It is typical of the larger bridges of the period in construction and in being 4 metres wide.

The familiar term is "Wade roads" and "Wade Bridges" in reference to General George Wade, a military Commander in North Britain from 1724 to 1740.  Wade is actually the only person named in the British National Anthem - one of the more clunky verses which isn't used today reads:

"Lord grant that Marshal Wade

may by thy aid victory bring

May he sedition hush

And like a torrent rush

Rebellious Scots to crush

God Save the King"

The "Wade" road here is part of a 100 mile (160km) route from Coupar Angus to Fort George near Inverness via Braemar, Corgarff and Grantown on Spey.  The whole route was built in nine years between 1748 and 1757, starting just two years after the final Jacobite defeat at Culloden Moor.  For context, the 26 mile/42km Aberdeen Western Peripheral route took five years to complete in the 21st century!

By the time construction of this road was started Wade had long since left the Highlands and in fact died in the same year work on this route started.  His successor, Major William Caulfeild (note the spelling, not "Caulfield") was appointed Inspector for Roads in Scotland in 1732.  While nowhere near as well known as Wade, Caulfeild oversaw far more of the network: Wade was responsible for 250 miles (400km) of road, forty bridges and two forts; Caulfeild  for 900 miles (1400km) of road and over six hundred bridges - an astonishing series of works.   

The road we now walked is part of the longest single stretch Caulfeild built at 100 miles and the line it took was clearly good because the vast majority of the route is still public road, suitably upgraded for modern traffic. This stretch wasn't absorbed into the road network and remains as a great walking route. 

The ingenuity, effort, endurance and craft of the road planners and of the regiments of soldier-navvies who constructed the military road network is a great testament to one of Britain's greatest engineering feats. 

A little over a kilometre further on the road crosses the third bridge of the section, this one spanning the Burn of Tornahaish.  Here also the bridge required restoration works and all three bridges on the section are now leased from the landowner, Candacraig Estate, by the Gordon Trust on a 99 year lease.  Smaller than Delavine and without a parapet, the span and height above what is a very small burn gives an indication of the volume the Burn of Tornahaish is capable of in spate.

The track climbs up from Burn of Tornahaish to join the A939 road, or more properly become the A939 road.  From here the Military Road goes to Gairnshiel then on over the hill to Crathie on Deeside.  We walked uphill for a short way before leaving the road on a track cutting back uphill, having bridged the gap of several kilometres between our previous walks.  Here we had a choice of routes to reach Bellabeg.  One route would take us over to link with a lower level walk we've done before while the other would climb up onto the high ground to cross the summit of Scraulac - a route done several times previously.

We chose the higher level option as the weather was good and we were in no particular rush.  The summit of Scraulac (which I think may be from the Gaelic for Scree Place) is really wide, though today a bit breezy too.  An estate worker passed us on a quad bike here and was the only other person we saw on the entire route.

We left the estate tracks to descend Scraulac's north east ridge, finding a remarkable hidden building en route.  A good track which became a metalled road soon led us down to the public road at Culfork.  This really is a "road less travelled", a loop of minor road running parallel to the A944 but on the opposite side of the river Don.  A relatively new venture along here is Cairngorms Glamping and Camp Site, which looks to be a super place to spend a holiday!

 Cutting off the road just outside Bellabeg, a track descends around a wooded hill to the last of the historic bridges of our walk.  Poldullie Bridge was constructed in 1715 by Sir John Forbes of Inverernan and crosses the River Don. A remarkably graceful single span bridge, the elegant form is best seen from above as in the images on the Canmore site.  Sir John Forbes made a fatal choice in throwing in his lot with the Jacobites at the 1715 rebellion and was captured following the battle of Sherrifmuir.  He died in Carlisle prison the day before the date of his execution.  It was this rebellion which prompted much of the roadbuilding effort in Scotland in order to "pacify" the Highlands.  Movie buffs might recognise Poldullie Bridge as it featured in the 2019 film "Mary Queen of Scots".

From Poldullie Bridge we climbed a steep bank to the main A944 road and strolled downhill to Bellabeg where we'd left a car earlier in the day.  

This had been a great walk with lots of history and great views.  The route we took is 19km/11.8 miles and it took us six hours at a fairly relaxed pace with a couple of stops.  Ordnance Survey 1:50K Landranger map 37 (Strathdon and Alford) covers the whole route.  As there is no public transport between Bellabeg and Corgarff this route does require two cars and a shuttle.  It would also make for a great mountain biking route with scope for variation.

Hidden treasure in Strathdon

For a winter day with a cold wind and weather which was due to briefly brighten into early afternoon sunshine I looked for a walk close to home so that it would be in line with Covid restrictions whilst being a route I hadn't previously explored.  A circular walk in Strathdon taking in some forest and open country above the River Don looked to fit the bill perfectly.

The first part of the route used forest roads which were icy but sheltered from the chilly wind.  After a steady climb things levelled off and ahead a dazzling snowy and sunlit hillside promised views opening up.

And open up they did.  The Don in it's upper reaches is a comparatively small river and with temperatures in the hills which form the catchment well below freezing it was quite shallow.

As the forest was left behind, the views went widescreen - and what views!

Rounded heather hills can look somewhat dull until either the heather comes into bloom, or the snow comes.  Under snow this landscape is transformed, every feature accentuated by the hard, low winter light.  2020's lockdown restrictions had been a revelation in helping find wild country, beauty and interest close at hand - and 2021 has started on the same theme.  I never take for granted what we have on the doorstep, but have certainly come to appreciate things more fully during this dreadful pandemic.

The ridges reaching northwards from the hills of the Mona Gowan ridge looked utterly majestic under full snow cover and alternating light and shade. A pair of distant Golden Eagles working across a ridge, hanging on the wind as they looked for unwary hares was an absolute bonus. To this point the going underfoot had been really good with hard, icy snow which was wind scoured.  From the summit of Tom a Bhuraich back to the forest was a different story, a slog downhill in deep powder overlying even deeper heather - sadly no chance of finding any 13th century silver coins today, but never mind - this walk was treasure enough!

The downhill "plowter" through the snow was accompanied by a complete change in conditions.  To the north east, clear air took on an almost lemon shade as a frost haze set in.

A glance over the shoulder showed much more hostile conditions beginning to arrive.  The snow and wind held off long enough to get back to the car, which hadn't seemed likely.  

Once again a local route had given a terrific day's walk and some great views.  At 12km/8 miles, with modest ascent and a high point of just 561m/1840ft it packs a lot of variety and interest.  The whole route is on OS Landranger Sheet 37 (Strathdon and Alford), there is space for a couple of considerately parked cars at the side of the minor road at NJ 334 103

What's in a name? - Craignagour Hill and Scraulac

I walked west from Mona Gowan across a shallow bealach (col) to the next top on the ridge. This hill continued the goaty theme, it's name being Cairnagour Hill, a version of Cairn na Gobhar (cairn of the goats).  At one time presumably there was a herd of goats on these hills, but they're long gone.  The view here is looking back to Mona Gowan with Morven in the distance.

The ridge culminates a further kilometer or so to the west on a top called Scraulac.  No goat association here and I puzzled over the unusual name until I got to the summit.  The rock here is different to the other hills, a blocky quartzite which is quite unusual locally.  The Gaelic speaking people tended to name hills quite prosaically, and I think that Scraulac may be a version of Sgritheall-ach (scree place).  Just my guess of course - Gaelic mountain nomenclature is sometimes a hotly disputed subject!

My descent followed the line of an estate boundary, marked in fine Victorian style by granite blocks incised with a "C" on one face and an "I" on the other.  These are likely to represent Candacraig estate to the eastern side of the boundary and Inchrory estate to the west.

Candacraig House is these days owned by the comedian and former shipyard worker Billy Connolly while the estate remains in the possession of a Mr F. Wallace.  Inchrory is a huge estate, some 41,000 acres of mainly rough moorland and is owned by a secretive Malaysian businessman.  The shooting parties I saw out on the hill were on Inchrory ground, which was good as my descent was down Candacraig ground - I had no desire to spoil their day (and hopefully they wouldn't have spoiled mine either!)

There's a fine view of Mona Gowan on the descent; from most other angles it's not really a very prominent hill.

The day was very warm as I headed back to the forest edge, my track out can be seen on the right of this picture.

In the patches of muirburn were loads of Cowberry plants (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), the glossy berries shining in the sun. Also known as lingonberry, it's a plant of high heaths and is much used in Scandinavian cuisine.

The final couple of kilometers of my walk were on the road, but as fine a road as you could wish to walk, trees on one side and a burn (stream) on the other.

The round of Mona Gowan, Craignagour Hill and Scraulac is a great half day out in a quieter part of the country for hillwalking - really recommended.