RAMBLE REPORTS 2010
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Christmas Lunch at Daviot on Tuesday 14th December
2010
Over
thirty members gathered at ‘The Dairy at Daviot’ for our Christmas
lunch. Welcomed by our host we were directed to the very pleasant
conservatory area. Although a rather limited menu, the food was good
and the service excellent. Doug very generously paid for all our
drinks. Margaret L. had organised a raffle and after our meal the
tickets were drawn and many excellent prizes distributed. The raffle
raised £75. It was a very sociable occasion much enjoyed by
everyone.
Elspeth
Caledonian
Canal Ramble, Inverness to Clachnaharry
5th
November 2010
The
Muirtown
Basin car park was our starting point for the ramble.
While
waiting
for the scooters to be unloaded, our attention was captivated by the
antics of
two (perhaps three) otters enjoying a morning romp in the mirror-calm
water of
the canal.
Once
we were
off along the west bank of the canal, we enjoyed clear views of the
imposing Kessock
Bridge
and
Ord Hill to our right.
At
Clachnaharry, the wonderful, mild, windless weather enabled us to enjoy
a
wonderful panorama - the Beauly Firth and the distant mountains to the
west.
The weather was so
pleasant that
several locals and friendly dogs were out enjoying the time of day.
It
was almost
with regret that we prepared for our return to base.
Crossing
the canal via a lock, we emerged
onto the tow path on the eastern bank of the canal.
Making a
detour along a narrow path, we were disappointed to find the gate into
the
Merkinch Local Nature Reserve unsuitable for our scooters to pass
through.
Turning the scooters
proved
tricky and help
was required by the stronger members to execute an about turn in order
to make
the retreat back onto the tow path.
At
the level
crossing we were warned that a train was due and the gate would have to
be
closed.
Once we were all safely
over the
track, some of us waited to watch the train passing.
After
our
return to Muirtown
Basin
car
park, some of
us drove to The Co-op nearby for refreshments in their café.
I
can’t
help
concluding - “A good time was had by all”, and a
big Thank
You to all those who
plan and organise the rambles.
Alaine
Glenmore
Ramble -
7th
October 2010
Our ramble
started from Glenmore Visitor Centre with 22 of us heading towards the
Pass of
Ryvoan and Lochan Uaine, the Green Lochan. After
several days of wet and windy weather the forecast
was promising.
As we set off it seemed
we
were going to have
a fine early autumnal day to visit one of the most attractive and
interesting
areas of the Cairngorms.
I was
pleasantly surprised by the path which led to the Pass.
I
had not been there for several years and as
I remembered it the path was rough and stony. It
was now smooth and ideal both for walking and for
scooters.
As we meandered along I
noted
also that there
seemed to be more vegetation, the pines of the ancient Caledonian
Forest being
partly obscured by scrub birch which lined the path.
As the
glen
narrowed Miranda, one of the Forest Rangers who accompanied us,
described how,
as well as being a drove road for herding cattle to Southern markets,
Ryvoan
played an important role in supplying timber to the shipbuilding
industry in
Aberdeen.
Close to where we now
stood a
dam would be constructed.
When
sufficient water had accumulated, the sluice would be opened and young
men
would float the logs downstream to Loch Morlich. I
envisaged them surfing on rough pine logs
with dire consequences should they slip. The
process was repeated out of Loch Morlich to the Spey
and then on to
Spey Bay to be taken by boat to Aberdeen. No
30-ton lorries in those days!
As we
munched
our sandwiches at the Green Lochan the breeze turned cooler and the
summits and
the upper corries became enshrouded in mist. With
spots of rain on the wind we made a quick return to
the Visitor
Centre, not just to escape the weather but to celebrate
Juliet’s
birthday with
tea and cake.
A day early perhaps but
a
pleasant way to complete a fine ramble.
Ian
R.
Rosehaugh
Estate
Ramble
7th
September 2010
We
met briefly at Munro’s Garden centre and then on to the car
park
by Avoch’s
pretty church, having past the main entrance to Rosehaugh which would
be for
those that were unable to come would be a good easy walk/scooter on
tarmac for
a day out.
We headed off along a
short
road to reach the track into the estate.

It was a
good path with the
welcome
shelter of trees, and the muddy patch had dried up a great deal so no
one got
‘stuck in the mud’. Along
the
way an old
house was being renovated which gave us some practise in reversing and
vehicle
avoidance.
But that obstacle
overcome we
continued unhindered through woodland on both sides with a gap with
panoramic
views on the left towards Munlochy and the Cromarty Firth.
We
reached the site of the old house and
stopped for lunch.
There were some lovely
views even though the weather was cloudy and windy.
Elspeth
gave us some information on the old
house and its history and passed round a book of its story.
The land was acquired by
Sir George
Mackenzie in the 1660’s but the first substantial house was
built
in 1790 by
Roderick Mackenzie. This was described as “a modern edifice,
substantially
built and commodious, costing
£3000-£4000!” by Rev. J
Smith vicar of
Avoch.
In 1864 the land and
house were
bought by James Fletcher who greatly improved and reclaimed areas
including
draining Loch Scadden above Avoch an area of 3300 acres.
His
son James Douglas inherited and employed
Wm.Flockhart to extend the house, he encased it and added many bays to
the
original, using only the finest materials. It passed to his widow and
when she
died in 1953 it was sold to an insurance co, and the house was
demolished in
1959, when they sold the contents it was the largest sale ever seen on
the
Black Isle.
A sad end but there is
a
number
of buildings on the estate now restored and rented out as holiday lets.
We then
headed back the
same way - an
interesting and enjoyable day.
Jean and
James
Seagull
Trust Canal Cruise 16th
August 2010
We all
parked
next to the boat and we were met by a very friendly and most helpful
crew from
the Seagull Trust.
We were also waved
off like royalty by Margaret L and Elspeth causing a good giggle inside
the
boat.
We started
and maintained a slow pace meandering along the canal taking in the
sights
along the way.
The weather stayed
clear
and
bright and this made for some stunning reflections on the canal from
the
surrounding trees and greenery.
We
all chatted
and received excellent hospitality from the crew with tea and coffee
and
homemade shortbread.
Some
of the
more adventurous went to see the wheelhouse in action and the remainder
of the
group just enjoyed the leisurely pace of the cruise.
We headed
down the canal for about an hour, passing a variety of boats including
some very
expensive ones.
The boat was then
turned
around and we headed back along the same route.
The
Seagull
Trust
crew handed around some souvenirs that were reasonably priced and many
of the
group purchased a selection of their wares. We were very happy to
support this
great charity.
Once
the boat
was moored we all took part in a group photo for the Seagull Trust as
we had
all travelled from far and wide within the highlands.
We
then went to the Floral Hall for coffee
and when we arrived it seemed the whole group had the same idea. Every
table was full, the majority of them with
Highland Disabled Ramblers members.
Harley
Nairn
Ramble on
4 August 2010
The group
met at the large and accessible Links Car Park, and started out along
the sea
front with glorious
views to the north.
We passed the harbour and crossed the pedestrian bridge over the Nairn
river
into the Caravan Park which leads to East Beach Car Park.
We
took
the path behind the dunes towards Culbin
Sands, which HDR
helped to survey with
one of the Highland Council Rangers on one of our first rambles, in
September
2001.
The sandy path runs
between high
shrubs for the first half of the route and is just wide enough for a
scooter.
As well as a large
variety
of
wild flowers, we passed bushes loaded with ripe wild raspberries and
the
promise of a good blackberry harvest later.
We
stopped
to admire the more open view near to the Ministers Pool, and moved on
to
Kingsteps Car Park for a picnic lunch; not a good spot for a picnic one
would
have thought, but it was possible to position ourselves so that we had
open
views.
After
lunch we joined the suburban road back to Nairn, passing Meadow Lea and
Sutor
housing estates and turning right on to a footpath immediately after
Nairn
Dunbar Golf Club, which led us to the west bank of the river Nairn. We
crossed the river by footbridge,
arriving
back at the Links just after 2 pm. The
decision was taken that the vans would leave the car park at 3 pm,
allowing
members to enjoy refreshments at the Beach Café, which was
very
busy serving
the many families enjoying a day at the seaside.
Twenty
four members and friends with 9 scooters joined the ramble. We
thank Elspeth for auditing and leading the
ramble, which was planned by Yvonne and Lenny. We
also thank van drivers Martin and Alan and marshals who
assisted with
road and bridge crossings.
As always,
goodwill and dedication helped to make this a successful and varied
ramble in
very pleasant weather.
Margaret A.
Strathfarrar
– Tuesday 20th
July 2010
After
gathering at Beauly Gallery we travelled up Strathfarrar and parked on
rough
ground.
Ten scooters, but 21 of
us in
total, then set off in hot sunshine, heading further up the valley road. The
road was fully tarred, wide and
undulating making it very easy going for all. Trees,
moors and mountains surrounded us all the way, with
glimpses of
the river now and then.
By
lunchtime we had reached the Dam on the River Farrar (although not
easily
seen), and spread out for a well earned rest and picnic.
The
valley had opened out here with views
towards Loch Beannacharan, and Sgurr na Muice and Beinn na Muice peaks.
The
dragonflies of this area were amazing, the largest I have seen. However
– the weather deteriorated
and a
quick dash back to the cars was in order. What a disappointing end to a
lovely
walk but with tea and cake to look forward to back at the Beauly
Gallery.
We
are
always advised to bring sunscreen, hats, waterproofs and midge
protection – on
this ramble we used them all!
We
must
thank the Strathfarrar Estate for allowing us access to this lovely
area and to
the two van drivers, Sue and Eddie for all their hard work on the day.
Evelyn
Great Glen
Way ramble
- 5th
July 2010
Well
here
we are at last, my report on a very enjoyable day on yet another
interesting
walk!
We
arrived
at the S.N.H. Offices beside the old Craig Dunain hospital in
Inverness, with
Martin and Eddie doing a van shuttle to bring the scooters to the start.
About 5
cars with walkers and helpers turned up on a pleasant Monday at the SNH
car
park to convoy to the start of the ramble along part of the 'Great Glen
Way'
We were
met by GGW ranger
'Bruce' who led us
on a very interesting walk, pointing out the various plants and trees,
and the
reservoirs built by the patients of Craig Dunain back in the early days
of the
1920s, which were used as fire extinguishers.
The
views
were brilliant. Seeing the old hospital from a different angle I'm sure
reminded
many folks who may have known the beautiful old building which to me
looked
like a Castle built during the 1745 rising.
As
the path ran
up one steep part, we had to
negotiate a rather tricky turn through a gate that was on a bend on the
hill. We
needed full power to be used by the various scooters with some tricky
driving,
phew!
We all managed, what
fun!
We heard
many wild birds, with a Willow warbler regularly chirping away,
although try as
I might did not see it!
We
stopped
for our 'picnic' on an old drove road, with some lovely trees giving
shade from
the slight sun, still hearing the warbler
who must have wondered what we were all doing in
his area. With
thoughts of Rob Roy running
through my
mind, we made our way back to the cars after, yes another great Ramble!
Don
Beinn
Eighe ramble -
23 June 2010
A very
good turnout for this ramble with all scooters booked and plenty
volunteers.
The Reserve manager Eoghain Maclean met us at the car park and welcomed
us to
the reserve. He led us round the ‘All Abilities
Trail’ with
its excellent surface
and gradient, stopping to explain some of the management issues and
highlighting the wildlife around us. Some of us stopped at the
‘listening
posts’, powered by turning a handle, to hear about the
various
animals and
birds found in the pinewoods.
As
we
gained height, we were treated to open views up to Beinn Eighe itself.
We
stopped for our picnic at an ideal vantage point but could see clouds
gathering
above us. After lunch Eoghain
led us
towards Kinlochewe village to complete a circuit back to the car park.
We were
treated to a few showers which did not dampen our enthusiasm for the
ramble.
We
had a
chance to look round the Visitor Centre with its excellent displays
before
heading home. Some folk, I think, stopped at the cafe in Achnasheen for
a welcome
drink.
Many
thanks to Eoghain for his warm welcome, to Margaret L. for arranging
our visit
and to Martin and Eddie for driving the vans. Also thanks to our other
volunteers.
Elspeth
Drumnadrochit
Ramble and AGM on 5th
June 2010
Eighteen
members
and friends assembled in the car park at Drumnadrochit before driving
up to the
High School to park. Martin led our walk above the village, passing
beside
woods and fields, the grass verges blooming with wild flowers. On
the way he drew our attention to the great
variety of trees, in particular some very large, old conifers. As we
passed
through a residential area, we could admire the well kept gardens of
the Drum
folk.
Many
thanks
to Martin for finding yet another good ramble in the Drum area, and for
pointing out many points of interest we would otherwise have missed.
One of the
great benefits of these outings is the conversation, or simply the
quiet
enjoyment of the surroundings. Thank you also to Peggie who, with
Martin, drove
the vans.
After
arriving
back at the school, we headed to the Church of Scotland Hall, where we
enjoyed
our lunch. No need to bring cakes here – the wonderful array
of
home baking was
there again. Many thanks to Maureen and her team.
After
lunch,
our Annual General Meeting followed, chaired by Sheelagh. Our president
Jamie
McGrigor was unable to attend this year due to family commitments.
Cameron
and
Margaret A. have stood down from the committee for health reasons. We
wish them
both well. Margaret was presented with a photo collage of her HDR
exploits in
recognition of her excellent service since the very start of HDR. We
were pleased to welcome three new members
to the committee – Janet M., Terry and Don.
We also
discussed finances and fundraising. The meeting agreed to raise the
annual
membership fees to £15 (single) and £20 (family) .
There was
also plenty time to chat and catch up with members’ news.
Elspeth
Boat
of Garten – Tuesday 18th
May 2010
This was
the
second ramble of the season and it was the second one which provided us
with a
warm sunny day. After meeting up at the new community hall with its
excellent
facilities, we went in convoy down the Kinchurdy Road to unload the
scooters.
Our route took us parallel to the Strathspey Steam Railway line, which
we could
occasionally glimpse through the trees (sadly no trains passed), before
we
turned right through the forest, following good wide tracks and ended
up on the
banks of Loch Vaa for our picnic.
As we
looked
across the water, the view of the snow-capped Cairngorms was
stunning
above the tree-lined far shore of the Loch. It was hard to imagine that
the A95
trunk road passed only about 50 yards beyond the far shore. We were
given an
excellent talk on the history of forestry on the Seafield Estate by the
head
forester, who explained that this area largely escaped the vast timber
harvesting programme of WW2.
There was
a
good attendance on the ramble, and our thanks go to Susan
for arranging
the ramble, and to all our volunteer drivers, marshals, and all
participants.
It was a great day out, as Wallace and Grommit would say!
Peter
Brahan
Estate
- 16th
April 2010
We
certainly had a good start to the HDR Season with the ramble at Brahan
Estate.
The day started with the meeting of members at the Fraser Auction Mart
at Dingwall and we set off in convoy to the Brahan Estate where the
scooters were
allocated, and off we all went at a leisurely pace. The sky was blue,
the sun
shone and after the terrible winter which we have had it was wonderful
to realise
that spring had actually arrived, albeit with a cool breeze. Wildlife
enthusiast among us were treated to
herons, moorhens, coots, swans nesting, a skein of geese overhead, the
hoot of
a tawny owl, pheasants strutting and a beautiful view of red kites.
The
arboretum that we were supposed to have negotiated had been so badly
damaged by
the winter snow as to make the pathway unsuitable for the scooters, so
we went
around another way where Martin pointed out some interesting plants and
trees.
We had a short stop by the loch, where we watched the waterfowl and
came across
a strange phenomenon of lots of dead toads, which no-one seemed to be
able to
explain.

One
of the scooters had a bit of a mishap, but the rider, apart from
perhaps a
slight loss of dignity, was none the worse for his spill.
We
had another short rest for refreshment by the River Conon and those who
had
packed a lunch ate there, while others had lunch when we returned to
the
Auction Mart. Altogether a wonderful day was had by all. Roll-on the
next trip
– Boat of Garten!.
Janet
M.
Martin’s
talk on New Zealand
–
24th
February 2010
Our
second winter meeting of
the year on 24th February dawned with blizzard-like conditions. A
number of members had confirmed their
intention to come to the meeting and as the morning went on,
the
snow ceased so we decided to go ahead as only a few had advised that they were
not
going to be able to make it.
So a small
number of us gathered at the Mission Room in North
Kessock
to partake of soup and sandwiches provided by the good ladies of the
village.
After
lunch Martin showed us his pictures of
his trip to New
Zealand
and was able to answer our questions about the trees and
agriculture/farming
there. It
was really interesting and the pictures
superb.
He concluded the 'film
show'
with those taken at
Raffles which
was fascinating.
We will ask Martin to
give the show again as those who could not come missed a treat.
Our
new volunteer Kenny came
and we made him feel welcome.
Also Janet
had provided name badges for every member - a great effort. Thank
you, Janet.
Peggie’s
Quiz – 20th
January 2010
There
was a very good
turnout for this event, the first opportunity many folk had had to get
out
after the confinements of snow and ice. After an excellent lunch and
plenty
chat, we divided into about 6 teams for the quiz. Peggie had prepared a
wide
ranging test of our knowledge, from history and geography to biology
and films.
All was taken in a light hearted vein and greatly enjoyed.
Many
thanks to Peggie for her excellent
preparation and organisation of the quiz.
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