Winter Walking - not a miniature adventure!

Glen Iorsa and Loch  Tanna. Taken September 2012 on a clear day. 

The larger mountains such as Goatfell as Caisteal Abhail draw enthusiastic hill walkers of all abilities through out the year and the slightly lower fells on the western side often get overlooked.

Deer at Lochan a Mhill. The Loch was partially frozen. 26th January 2013. 10.00am

However, these fells provide challenges that can stretch any seasoned hiker and provide some stunning walking, not to mention the '4 seasons in one day' experience!!

Red deer are easy to spot for quiet walkers.

The majority of peaks / routes on this side of the island are pathless and require some navigational skills (unless you are remarkably lucky with the weather and have your crystal ball to ensure it won't change).

26th January 2013 - Reaching the snow line, Meall nan Damh. 10.30am

As the routes are pathless and through rugged terrain, the mileage takes a lot longer and saps energy as heather is battled with, boggy bits squelched through, and streams crossed.  Slopes are often steep, which is no problem going up, but fairly treacherous coming down, especially when its wet.  This year many a stream has turned into a raging torrent forcing walkers to detour or take risks they were not expecting.

26th January 2013 - Watch that cloud. 12.00pm

The Island does have a mountain rescue team (and a very good one), but these are not the catch all  and anyone making a foray into the hills should be well prepared. To start with why not fill out a 'going to the hills' form, which can be found on this link. A map and compass should be carried, the ability to walk on a bearing, a survival bag, extra clothing, food and having let someone know where you are going are fairly essential, not to mention having a 'plan b and c'.  A mobile phone may or may not be of any use as signal coverage is poor and cannot be relied upon. In some instances a text may get through, so have you registered your phone to enable 999 texting?  If not do so, the link is here for instructions.

26th January 2013 -  Gale force winds and severe wind chill. This was forecast and expected.  12.45pm.  

Visibility can quickly disappear and terrain become featureless.

For those wanting a good walk and not an epic, there are some paths at lower levels to places such as Loch Tanna and Loch Iorsa.  However, even the track to Loch Iorsa has a fairly deep ford to cross, but in reality this route could be done in wellingtons.  The path towards Loch Tanna has numerous wet and boggy bits, with a few streams as well and does really need walking boots due to the rocky surface.

26th January 2013 - On the way home, Allt nan Calman usually a trickle to be crossed on the Loch Tanna path.  3pm

Other routes slightly south of Dougarie Lodge include the Kings Cave, Machrie Moor standing stones, or further north there are numerous routes around the Cock of Arran and Lochranza.

Two of our holiday houses are particularly suited to walking groups as they have single and twin rooms. Details can be found on our website. 

Images courtesy of Arran in Focus.

Dougarie Lodge - Isle of Arran

Dougarie Lodge sits on the western side of the Isle of Arran, just north of Machrie.  The lodge was built in 1864/65 as a shooting lodge for William Hamilton the 11th Duke of Hamilton. The Duke was married to Princess Marie of Baden and they had three children, William, Charles and Mary.  Mary married PrinceAlbert of Monaco and later Count Tassilo Festetics of Hungary. It is thought that her European connections and perhaps the influence from Bavaria and Hungary gave the interior a uniqueness – certainly in Scotland – of deer skin panelled passages, windows over fireplaces and horn door handles.  The lodge can be seen clearly from the road however other aspects of the estate are not so obvious.

To the front of the lodge a lawn stretches to the banks of the River Iorsa, and to the side lays terraced gardens in a castellated folly designed by James Mather in 1905.  The gardens are opened to the public 1 day a year, and no doubt will be subject of a more detailed blog then!

Further away from the road and separate from the lodge is the Towers.  Plans for this ruinous castellated style, were drawn in 1875 by John Currie. Although the 1^st edition OS maps show buildings on this site in 1837 but these are presumed to be older parts of the present complex.  The Towers includes a domestic house, bothy, kennels and various outbuildings.

At the side of the Towers is the Game Larder.  This was built in 1883, but little is actually known about it as no plans have been found. It is a large dodecagonal building very similar to the Bavarian summer house at Brodick Castle (also formerly owned by the Dukes of Hamilton).

All the buildings mentioned are Grade B listed. Oh, and Dougarie is pronounced 'Doo gry'

House of Machrie - Royal Brush

The House of Machrie is located on the Machrie Moor Road about half a mile from the western shores of the Isle of Arran. This Victorian mansion is set in beautiful surroundings with fabulous coastal views towards the Mull of Kintyre, a stone walled front garden and tall mature trees.

The house belongs to and is part of the Dougarie Estate.  At one time it was owned by the Dukes of Hamilton and belonged to the principle farm on the Island.  There was even a brush with Royalty in 1904, when it is recorded that King Edward VII, accompanied by the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton, 'took tea' here after a days deer stalking on Machrie Moor.

The building is very typical of 16th century domestic Scottish architecture with crow stepped roof gables and a circular tower with turret, which houses the grand staircase.

Nowadays the House of Machrie can be rented for holiday breaks or as a sporting lodge for larger parties.  The house can sleep up to 14 in two double bedrooms and 5 twin rooms.  It also has 2 large reception rooms and a large conservatory. 

Not to mention the reception hallway, drying room, outside pantry and games room with bar billiards and table tennis!

The large dining room can seat 14 comfortably. We even allow well behaved pets to stay!  Further information can be found on our website www.dougarie.com

 

Dougarie Shoots

Dougarie is a country sporting estate and as such runs a number of pheasant shoots each year.  Prior to me taking up a role within the Estate I had never been on a shoot and knew very little about the subject (I still don’t!) but I’m learning fast and have now been on several on the Island.

The beaters gather at a very civilised time just before nine, some with dogs who were busy introducing themselves and clearly eager to get going.  After some discussion with the gamekeeper, dogs and people are crammed into a variety of 4WD’s, and were dispatched to the start of drive.  

The ground is rough and challenging to move across, hence the need for the dogs to be able to flush the birds forward. Depending on the drive (and there are usually about 6 in a day), it can be across moor, scrub or through the forests.  Most of the beaters carried sticks, not only for support but also to lay across the top of fences that had to be negotiated (hence preventing barb wire injuries!).

After spreading out, a short wait and then the horn blows to indicate the start. What surprised me most on my first shoot was the noise – not of the guns, but the banging of sticks, clackers, chirping, whistles and the flags snapping.  And all the time the gamekeeper controlling the line moving forward, stopping it while birds flushed out and generally ensuring we were all doing what we should. Before I knew it the horn blew again to stop the drive (and more importantly the guns).  As I discovered, it is usually at this point a perfect bird flies across the guns, and lives to fly another day.

At the end of the drive we all gathered near the guns, some dogs panting and taking a rest, while others went off to ‘pick up’ the downed birds.  This is not always as easy as it sounds as some birds continue to glide and can be a significant distance away.

In some cases it seems that the bird is nearly as big as the dog!

Of course when the beaters set off to the start of a drive, the guns set off to their ‘pegs’.  Each gun having been allocated a peg at the start. 

Some guns also have their own dogs, which wait patiently by, ready to ‘pick up’ nearby downed birds on command. On one shoot I stayed with the guns and realised the importance of controlling the beaters to ensure a steady flow of birds and not a great flush all at once.

All birds picked up, everyone loaded back into vehicles and it was off to the next drive.  

And at the end, some very tired dogs.