| Summer walks round up Once again guided FoTO walks took place this summer and two of the three planned events were held. Unfortunately, the survey of Ewlairfold in Glen Quey had to be called off due to inclement weather, but it is hoped to undertake the survey in the spring – probably a better time to do it as the growth around the fold will be less. The first walk, led by Fenwick Worrell, took place in the eastern OchiIs in the area around Berry Hill above Glen Farg. Once again, it showed what a wealth of interesting country lies to the east of Glen Devon. We met at Wester Deuglie and were given a short but insightful history of the farm by the owner. From there we progressed to the ruins of Berryhill, a post medieval settlement with stunning views across to the Lomonds, followed by a traverse of open country to the Bronze Age burial site of Cairn Geddes via Loch Whirr. The well built but discreet bird observatory hut by the side of the loch added interest to this section of the walk. As well as enjoying superb views down to the Tay, we spent time observing foxes with their cubs playing in the evening sunlight around their den on a nearby hillside. From Cairn Geddes we returned to Berryhill via an extensive area of commercial forestry. We were disappointed that our long wait to observe badgers around their set was not rewarded with a sighting, but we were treated to a brilliant display of flying by a long eared owl over the set. We arrived back at the cars as night fell, once again having enjoyed so much of what the OchiIs have to offer. The second walk, this time led by Fenwick and Nicki Baker, took us to Menstrie Glen. The key source for information on the glen was the book Well Sheltered & Watered - Menstrie Glen, a farming landscape near Stirling, published by the Royal Commission for Ancient and Historic Monuments in Scotland, 2001. John Harrison, a member of the Friends of the OchiIs and the speaker at our forthcoming AGM contributed greatly to the research and drafting of this document. In an evening we could only touch on the wealth of detail now available on the glen as a result of the RCAHMS survey, but there is so much more to this glen than meets the eye. For example, before the survey work, just seven buildings were recognised and recorded in Menstrie Glen; after the survey a further 80 buildings were identified and recorded. From the Sheriffmuir road we traversed Loss Hill to visit a disused copper mine from where we descended to the remains of Loss House, which was built as a fine mansion house in 1753-54 by a James Wright at a cost of £1,000. From Loss we walked to Jerah House, the remains of which are still standing and which was a working farm until the 1960s. The population of the glen was at its peak in the 1750s when there was at least 12 stone-built farm houses in use. However, extensive lowland clearances commenced in the glen in the 1760s, after which the population declined. The present day image of the glen as an 'empty place' belies its past as a thriving, densely populated landscape. From Jerah we walked back to the cars along the track, called the Kings Highway, again having enjoyed not just a walk in the pleasant evening sunshine but insights into the history of the OchiIs landscape. Irvine
Butterfield — an appreciation www.grough.co.Uk/magazine/2009/05/15/irvine-butterfieldgiant-of-scottish-hillwalking-dies
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