On the route the Castletown Distillery is being built. We have proposed that HIE pay for this as they caused the problems with the NC500 and why should the Council pay for everything.
We also propose that HIE pay for the bridge over the burn at the Old Mill while they are doing it up.
Also, we have suggested to Orbex that they and HIE pay for a new section from the Kyle of Tongue to the Mhoine House, not forgetting that they agreed to the specification of the North Highland Way in 2014 on the Route to NetZero. We call her the Galloping Granny
Watch out at the Naver Bridge
Its a bit tricky while the work is going on.
OUT AND ABOUT WITH STEPHEN FRASER - 2014
"Last week was the Caithness & Sutherland Walking Festival, a wet event in general, which is a pity as the last two years' events have been blessed with good weather. It started off well with good days on Saturday and Sunday, then deteriorated into a torrential downpour on Monday and early Tuesday. However, 9 intrepid walkers, led by Jim Coll, ventured forth on the Monday. Tuesday was a wash out and some participants decided it was best to high tail it home. The Rumster walk, led by the Forestry Commission, did not attract as much interest as last year, and on the Thursday Brian Sparks led intrepid walkers on Dunnet Head in the glorious sunshine. On the Friday I was able to enjoy a walk out with Stephen Fraser of the Forestry Commission in Borgie Forest, joined by a gentleman from Fife. Unfortunately the bad weather had again driven off the other participants.
Borgie Forest lies 37 miles to the west of Thurso, 4 miles from Tongue, and 7 miles west of Betty Hill on the A836. is an excellent resource for recreation and a place where you can feel you are in real wilderness. The forest covers 14200 hectares and is a feast of broadleaf, pine, spruce and birch trees. Gone are the days of blanket covering of trees starting near the entrance and rolling back into the forest to be harvested wholesale. New methods are much more sympathetic with a mixture of trees grown not only for their timber value, but also to provide magnificent spaces for recreation. The potential for cycling and horse riding is immense, as well as walking. Or you can just enjoy a quiet picnic by one of the burns, or take a break at one of the picnic tables strategically placed to maximise the magnificent views of Ben Loyal and Ben Stumandh.
Parking by the totem pole and walking up past the cultivated vegetable gardens you get the feeling of a working forest and the importance of community involvement. There were plans for an orienteering route, but the proposed location within the forest was deemed not suitable. Originally planted in 1920, Borgie Forest was all but destroyed by fire in 1942 and suffered another major set back in 1999 when many of the trees had to be felled following severe winter gales. The statuesque scots pine and spruce which formed the first part of the walk are some of the tallest trees in Sutherland at over 100 feet tall. It is said that a puma lurks there. Ah well, we had Stephen's magnificent black labrador, Baloo, to protect us should the beast emerge from the forest. Archaeology and culture also lurk in the forest, remains of old settlements testamony to a Highland way of life long past. Now the foresters face the dilemna of saving trees and not disturbing the old villages.
The Great Scotland Trail.
The River Borgie has been designated a SAC (Special Area of Conservation) and is an important place for Atlantic salmon. It is clear that the Commission are sensitive to their neighbours on the boundaries, and constantly monitor the environmental effects of the planting of trees near to water courses such as the Easanne and Allt an Tot burns which may have an impact on the salmon feeding grounds, as well as the fisherman. After all, if a fisherman pays hundreds of pounds to fish the river, he doesn't want to get his lines caught up in the trees! Equally, the silt from the land should not impact on the salmon in the river. The forests of the north are associated with famous celebrities - Mr. Profumo was carrying a 12lb salmon up the hill back to his lodge when the Christine Keeler scandal broke in the 1970s, Terry Wogan and Steve Davis both invested heavily in the planting of the forests back in the 1990s.
Stephen explained the impact pine weevils and other beasties have, especially on felled trees. It is amazing how such small creatures can wreak such devastating havoc and, like the cockroach and the tick, are some of life's success stories. We encountered an eppermoth caterpillar which Baloo teased until it curled up in a ball to protect itself - obviously Baloo didn't really consider it as a serious food source as he lost interest and scampered off. Otters scurry along the burnside and water voles dart into a bank side-hole. Red and Roe deer in habit the forest, dawn or dusk usually being the best time to spot these creatures. Buzzards and osprey nest in the forest and the differing types of tree which host them were pointed out (Stephen, can you put a bit about which tree hosts which bird - slipped my mind!). Stephen's depth of knowledge is not restricted to wildlife in the forest, but also to the economics of forestry, the usage of trees as an energy source and general environmental issues such as climate change. Recreation and access are as much part of a forester's life as having an eye on economic sustainability.
Different trees - lodge pole pine, sitka spruce and scots pine live happily in symbiotic union, each having different root systems, maximising the space available while each feed on different nutrients.
In previous years, the plantations were of blanket sitka spruce which were the most economically viable species. Nowadays, economics does not play such a major role in forest management, conservation, landscape, public consultation, access and recreation are the objectives for the forester. More open areas are left for biodiversity, and broadleaf trees are planted along the rides to make them more aesthetically pleasing.
A magnificent log cabin has been constructed at the western end of the forest which will become the Rangers' and Foresters' offices. It is sympathetically designed and constructed of 180 native timbers. The roof is covered with earth sods for insulation, and the sewage system is a reed bed with an eye again to environmental sustainability. Two pot bellied stoves will provide heat source with wood from the forest, and, if structural complications can be overcome, underfloor heating driven by a wood chip boiler. The wood will take about 4 years to settle, so nothing can be fixed to the walls, including electrical sockets and the toilet, so allowances have had to be made for this. It is like something out of Grand Designs - a total solution to foresters' storage and office needs and a tourist attraction in itself.
All in all, it was an excellent day out. The weather was kinder than it first promised, and the 8 mile leg stretch did wonders for my equilibrium after a hard week of organising the "big event"! Thank you, Stephen!"