by Mike Newbury

Present:

• Peter Holden, NTS Senior Ranger, Mar Lodge Estate
• Alister Clunas, NTS Property Manager
• Bob Brown, NTS Paths Project Manager
• Matt Roberts, LLTNP
• Fran Pothecary, Cairngorms NP
• Gavin Queen, FC
• Kevin Fairclough, UDAT
• Keith Miller, MCofS
• Mike Newbury, MCofS
• Mike Dales, MCofS
• Alex McLarty, Contractor (Initial session)

The Party assembled at Mar Lodge for an introductory talk by Peter Holden. Then we were taken in 2 NTS Landrovers by the track for 5 miles up Glen Quoich to a turning area within the old pine forest at the foot of the spur which carried the vehicular track up Beinn a' Bhuird, one of the most notorious scars in all the Highlands, and penetrating one of the highest and most remote wild land areas.

Here, the track has been terminated, and its continuation obliterated with massive turves of old heather (photo 1). In amongst the turves are areas of bare ground (visible on photo 2) with colonisation by mosses, sedges, grasses, blaeberry etc. 'Leggy' heather is difficult to transplant, but here it has been achieved with complete success, by moving large enough clods with the 12 ton digger.

An old stalkers path is followed from the end of the vehicular track. It winds up through the pinewood above and to left (facing) of the former track line.

From where the footpath emerges from the trees on to the open hill, a new path has been built with aggregate surface and open stone cross-drains. The path is slightly benched, and the top side drain (cut through heather into the surface peat) has developed some overhangs. If the job were done again, the ditch would be cut in a wide V and lined with recovered vegetation: this would have reduced erosion and visual intrusion. (Such work would have to be done early in the season to allow re-establishment before winter conditions set in.) There is an occasional slight scour of the path surface at steeper gradients and where springs have emerged.

The vehicle track line is regained at an elbow where, having turned up from a lower level, it takes a rising traverse up the side of the glen containing the burn Alltan na Beinne. The path continues within the restored track, ascending higher and more exposed ground, and here there is more bare surface and slower recolonisation. The footpath surface is also rougher, and will need maintenance against scours and loose stones which may turn walkers off-path (photos 3 & 4).

From the next elbow of the former track, a new well-formed footpath continues up the side of the glen (photo 5), whilst the trackline angles back up to the crest of the spur then rises up it in a straight line (photo 6). At first sight from above, the restoration of the superseded track appears to have failed, but the natural ground profile has been restored, and surface mobility having ceased, re-colonisation is beginning, and is very visible on closer examination.

In a dip immediately below the brow of the plateau at about 850m, the track line is rejoined and followed up the plateau for about 3km. to the end (photos 7-14).

1997 Work
On the plateau, three sections totalling 200m. were experimentally hand-restored in 1997 at a cost of £57.60 per lin. metre (equivlent to £ 11.54 per sq.m. on the 5m. width of worked ground). The altitude here is between 945 & 1020 metres.

1998 Work
In 1998 more experimental work was undertaken with a 3 ton mini-digger, over a length of 470m. continuing up the plateau to an altitude of about 1070m., and for 140m. at about 745m. altitude on the abandoned crest line. The cost was £23.62 per lin. metre (equivalent to £4.72 per sq. metre on the average 5m. width of worked ground).

1999 Work
Subsequently, a mini-digger was used for the rest of the plateau; but for the restoration on the slopes below right down to the forest including the rest of the abandoned crest line, a 12-ton digger was used, at a cost of £11 per metre (£2.20 per sq. metre on a 5 metre width). A mini-digger was used for the lower length of diverted footpath (above the trees), but the upper length of diverted footpath (up the side of the glen) was constructed entirely by hand.

Note
Power barrows were used for transporting materials throughout and all the machine work was closely followed by hand finishing.

Comments
Whilst the 1999 hand restoration was discernably superior to the machine work, with boulders set lichen side up and recovered vegetation planted in sheltered pockets etc, I do not consider that the difference will be significant after, say, another 3 years of re-colonisation, except for the uppermost section ('the rock garden') where large boulders on a side slope have been carefuly manoeuvered to leave a winding path in very pleasing landscaping.

As well as being much cheaper than the mini-digger, the large machine is generally preferred for its greater stability and longer reach, with less tracking over the ground etc., and it is much better at the lower altitudes for lifting the large clods necessary for transplanting 'leggy' heather.

I suspect that maintenance problems will need to be addressed on the steeper gradients lower down (due to the mobility of path surfaces of granite-derived grit) and on the rougher part of the path where it follows the restoration on the side of the glen.

The old track line is still very clearly visible (except in the deep heather at the very bottom) and there has been no fertilising or seeding done, but the ground having been been stabilised, recolonisation of the native vegetation is proceeding well; and this is a long-term project, not an instant fix!

The total length of the restored Beinn a' Bhuird track is 6.5km.

NTS have so far restored 25km out of the total 72km of vehicular tracks on Mar Lodge Estate, assisted by substantial funding from SNH and the European Union. It is to be hoped that with the support of SNH, the National Park Authority, and others, this will be followed by similar landscape restoration in the Cairngorms and elsewhere.