Pathway to wisdom in the hills

September 2004

by Jim Maison
September 2004

It might surprise you to know that the hill-walkers who elected to conserve one of Aberdeenshire’s most striking peaks come from Forfar. For us the 1,900-foot granite-topped Clachnaben is, as the crow flies, just 50 miles away – an hour’s drive.

One day in 1997 I was sitting on the summit of Clachnaben with my friend Phil Cram, then general manager of Texaco North Sea Operation, when the conversation veered to the sorry state of the path. The hill was a victim of its popularity, eroded by the treadmarks of 10,000 visitors each year. If this was allowed to continue the track would surely despoil a lovely panorama.

As we had enjoyed the pleasures of the great outdoors for so many years, we felt this was our chance to give something back to the hills. We wanted to improve the path for future generations, using as our model the redoubtable Baillies who control erosion on Bennachie.

We approached Charles Gladstone, the enlightened owner of Fasque and Glen Dye estates, who welcomed the idea whole heartedly. I then enlisted the support of some of my walking friends: Donald Thomas, consultant anaesthetist at Stracathro Hospital, Forfar lawyer Hamish Lean and Rebeccah Adron, a farmer’s daughter from Maryfield Farm, Banchory. Under Hamish’s guidance our informal group, Friends of Clachnaben, became in 1997 the Clachnaben Path Trust.

The trust represents a typical cross-section of the hillwalking fraternity – two doctors, a factory worker, a solicitor, a gardener, and a retired policeman. Our role was to coordinate the restoration work of the volunteers and raise funds through appeals, grants and donations, because by this time the estimated cost of the project had soared to a frightening £200,000.

We engaged Martin McRorie, a well-known path consultant, to advise on how the path could be repaired and the hill returned to its natural state. He felt that the track leading to the summit was too direct and that a new line with gentler gradients should be created, with proper drainage and an improved surface. This radical suggestion was not welcomed by all of us at the time, but has proved its worth.

Forming the trust was just the beginning. While the physical work was enjoyable, the financial and administrative aspects verged on the nightmarish. In our difficult periods we were supported by the estate factor Andrew Hamilton and head keeper Archie Dykes, and Linda Mathieson of Aberdeenshire’s planning and environmental department; and without the invaluable advice of Ewan Cameron of Scottish Natural Heritage we would never have got off the ground.

Raising cash furrowed more brows than any other problem – finding a six-figure sum is a daunting prospect. Of the dozens of letters I sent out to hillwalking and mountaineering clubs asking for financial assistance, only three produced results. The most encouraging was from the Cairngorm club of Aberdeen which made Clachnaben its millennium project, and gave a substantial donation; it continues to support the trust in every way. Scottish Natural Heritage, the Perth-based Gannochy Trust, Aberdeenshire Council and oil giant Texaco also became major supporters.

Through Derek Whatling, Bristow Helicopters made a unique contribution. Their pilots, as a training project, uplifted huge stones which had been collected by volunteers on the hillside and repositioned them, suspended in nets. This was nerve-wracking, as one of the gallant volunteers had to remain under the giant chopper as it slowly lowered its cargo, and unhook the line while avoiding the maelstrom of stones and dust created by the down-draught. Later the Army air corps helicopters from Leuchars helped, too, with the transport of materials. This help was manna from heaven, saving us thousands of pounds and speeding up the work.

Unexpected help came from the Scottish Prison Service; inmates on day-release from Noranside Open Prison in Angus came regularly in a minibus, and worked under the supervision of prison officer Peter McNicol.

Gradually the path began to acquire its new shape; the straight route was replaced by a gentle curve and footbridges were built. The lower section was drained, realigned where necessary, bottomed out and given an excellent topsoil walking surface. The estate created a new car park to cope with the greater numbers of visitors.

But amateurs need professional help, and the main contractors throughout the project were Owen Bass of Northern Conservation in Ballater, Bobby Donaldson of Access Conservation in Carrbridge and Chris Cairns of Conserve in Tomatin.

The path was eventually opened four years ago by Cameron McNeish, an illustrious mountaineer and writer. Since then, visitors to Clachnaben have increased to around 20,000 annually.

But that is not the end of the story. This year the estate has proposed a four-kilometre circular walk which will link in with the path network. This is an exciting challenge, and the trustees are mulling it over as I write. Already, due to their efforts, the sorry scar which dominated the hillside has been erased, more walkers have enjoyed the hill, and the future of this lovely landmark has been safeguarded.

Who creates the erosion? Not the weather, not the landowner and his staff. It is the very people who love the outdoors who unwittingly cause this problem. As a passionate environmentalist, I believe there should be a levy on all walkers so that we can establish a national fund to tackle the problem of mountain erosion. What do you think?

Jim Maison, a retired police officer, served in London and latterly in Dundee. Married, he lives in the village of Charleston, near Glamis. His first Munro was Cairngorm in 1952 when he attended the Glenmore Lodge Outward Bound School along with fellow pupils from Glasgow.

This is an article from the September 2004 edition of Leopard Magazine. To read much more like this every month, subscribe to Leopard Magazine.