WALKIN' ROUND THE LOCH AN EILEIN

For the July walk, Pam and Hugh took us to Loch an Eilein in Rothiemurchus Forest in the Cairngorms National Park.

It was a fine day and given the location, it provided us with a chance to brush up on our knowledge of the flora, fauna, history and geography of this special part of Scotland.

Clearly the prospect of an educational and illuminating walk did not appeal to Susan.

Before we start - a bit of recent history.

In 2003 the Cairngorms National Park was the second National Park to be established in Scotland. it is the biggest National Park in the UK, covering 1467 square miles. The Park is a "protected landscape" and development within its boundaries is limited.

Not only that, but to get to Loch an Eilein we had to pass through some of the North Rothiemurchus Pinewood Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The Pinewood and Loch an Eilein itself all lie within the Caringorms Special Area for Conservation. These sites have been designated for their geological interest and for the range of habitats and species that are present.

So, a special place and one that we need to be careful of so as to avoid any damage to the fragile balance that exists here.

So here we are setting off at pace, in tune with our surroundings and acutely aware of what is around us.

Decision time. Should we head for the Glen of the Heather Stalks or go, instead, up to the Hill Pass of who knows what? The Lairig Ghru or Lairig Dhru in Gaelic is an enigma. There is no obvious meaning for the Dhru. It might relate to oozing of water or it may relate to the nearby River Druie. In any event we didn't go up there because it meant climbing up to 835 metres or 2740 feet and we don't do that.

The effort of getting through the gate was too much for some of us and off came a layer of clothing. Luckily there weren't too many more gates involved.

Once through the gate, Jimmy gave us an impression of cattle grazing. In fact, the Lairig Ghru was a drove road for cattle, but that was not the only or even the main use of the pass. It was historically used as the main route for all traffic from the Highlands to Aberdeenshire and Perthshire. Nowadays, the main route is, of course, the A9 over the Pass of Drumochter.

Here is the Lairig Ghru.

Janet and Dave lifting their eyes unto the hills.

 While at their feet are bright yellow Birdsfoot Trefoil, Heather and Birch seedlings. It is these assemblages of plants that lie behind the designations covering this area.

The Heather moorland is particularly attractive at this time of year and it provides a fabulous foreground for the mountains behind.

Looks like Dandelion, but I think it is Common Hawkweed. I really liked their 1972 record Silver Machine.

This quite striking tall plant among the Juniper is, I think, Great Mullien, which is more commonly found on wasteland but can be found in stony ground. It grows to over 2 metres in height.

The classic Cairngorm shrubs - Heather and Juniper. Juniper berries are used in the making of Gin and, indeed, Gin derives its  name from genever, the Dutch for Juniper. Juniper is very long lived and is indicative of ancient, largely unmodified landscapes. If you can see Juniper, the landscape has not changed markedly for hundreds of years.

This is a Harebell, sometimes known as the Scottish Bluebell. It flowers much later than the more famous Bluebell you see in woods all over the country. It is also more delicate and I do quite like it.

Alder is commonly found near water and is a more common tree than you might think. Alder have a number of folk traditions associated with them. They are thought to be good for hiding in and that may be because they grow in damp and often water-laden sites making them less visited and so better for hiding in. If cut, the sap runs dark orange and this was seen as unnatural. The sap is also used to make a green dye and the trunks of the tree do not rot in water and so were used as the base for crannogs.

Birch is a pioneer species, in that it is one of the first trees to colonise empty spaces or disturbed ground. Beithe, the Gaelic word for Birch, is also the first letter of the Gaelic Alphabet. Birch is associated with renewal and purification. Often Birch twigs were used in purification ceremonies and you still see Birch besom brushes used to clean houses and gardens.

Rowan was the tree that protected from witchcraft and it is common to see Rowan planted beside old ruined croft houses.

Willow, commonly used for medicinal purposes as an anti-inflammatory and also in basket making. Willow was a very useful tree, easy to grow and coppice.

Scots Pine is the archetypal tree of the Cairngorms and it is used as the logo for Rothiemurchus Estate through which we were walking in case you had become fascinated by all my writings about flora. It is a tree which is emblematic of the Great Wood of Caledon, which is thought to have covered large swathes of Scotland. Scots Pine was used for building and for providing masts for ships and the like. No doubt this is why the Great Wood of Caledon has now largely disappeared. Rothiemurchus is one of the strongholds of that great wood hence the number of designations protecting it.

 It wasn't all natural wonders as we walked, you could see plenty evidence of human use of the landscape.

It wouldn't be a walk with Hugh and Pam without a stop to consult the map, toss a coin and decide which way to go.

This is a Fly Agaric. These are widely thought to be poisonous, although deaths associated with them are very rare. In some parts of Europe they are parboiled and then eaten. It is notably hallucinogenic - yer actual magic mushroom.

Even so, I don't intend to try one.

It may still be July, but the Bracken is already beginning to turn brown. Christmas is just around the corner.

Sharon tries to jump in front of a Landrover in order to get a lift back to the car.

A bridge photo...or three

Note that it took until the third photo to get Dave and Sandra facing the front of the class.

Our first glimpse of Loch an Eilein.

Here it is a bit more visible.

Loch an Eilein - Loch of the Island. 

Here is the island, which is not man made, but natural.

Another view.

And another - it was very photogenic.

Lunch.

An unknown structure next to our lunch spot. Well it was unknown at the time, although Jimmy speculated that it was a lime kiln. He was right. It is one of a number of kilns around the Loch. The abundance of lime outcrops and timber for burning it led to the construction of a number of kilns dating mainly to the 18th and 19th Centuries. Lime was an important factor in the improvement of agriculture at the time.

The castle on the Eilein. This is thought to date from between 1222 and 1298 when the Bishop of Moray built a house at the south end of the island. In the 1380's the Wolf of Badenoch built a more substantial fortification and it was improved in 1600 by Patrick Grant of Rothiemurchus. The island was much bigger than you see now as a sluice was introduced to the loch to allow timber to be floated down the Spey in the 1770's.

The Castle was besieged in 1690 by Jacobites defeated at the battle of Cromdale. Oddly, it was used to shelter Jacobites after the Battle of Culloden in 1746.

Pure dead magic - eh?

Canoeists on the Loch. Well one was actually a pedal boat of some sort.It just looked like a canoe.

Reflections of the sky.

A big standing dead Scots Pine. These trees are important to the ecology of the forest as they are home to huge numbers of insects and when the tree falls it will become infested by fungi, break down and eventually provide a seed bed for new trees in the future.

This one has fallen and that process will have begun.

Reflections of Juncus. In this case Juncus effusus or Soft Rush. This is common in or near water throughout the UK. It is indicative of alkaline soils and is associated with sandy or peaty substrates - hence its appearance at the lochside.

It is grown in Japan to be woven into flooring mats. It was also used in Europe when soaked in grease to make lamps as a cheap alternative to candles.

Water lilies.

These are white water lilies which are not so common in the north Highlands as the yellow ones.

Another decaying Pine, or is it a giant centipede?

Two moody reflective images of the loch.

Mallard making ripples.

Decisions, decisions.

A banana skin on a Wood Ant nest. Banana skins (and orange peel) take up to 2 years to biodegrade. A lot more than paper bags and apple cores. So take all your litter home otherwise those who tut tut at the paper bags will start tutting at you.

Meall a'Bhuachaille. 810 metres high this is the Hill of the Shepherd.

This too shall Pass - the Lairig Ghru on the way back to the cars and then on to the Coylumbridge Hotel for some ridiculously expensive teabags and some nice cakes.

Many thanks to Pam and Hugh for arranging everything and for allowing me the opportunity to rabbit on about all sorts of stuff that you might not know or want to know about.