Expedition 299 - 16th November 2013
To the Magic Bridge

 


The forecast was for another windy and cold day, but we just got away with it. We had seven explorers, Alexander, Daibhidh, Isabella, JJ, Maighsi, Roanna, and Rowan, with five helpers, Adam, Fiona, John, Kate and Mairi, plus three dogs, Bramble, Cody and Jess. Incidentally, this made Rowan joint first in the attendance table and brought up 400 dog attendances on the expeditions.

We started off up the track through Mingarry Wood, which was new to quite a few of the team, stopping to look at some big trees and the site of the old bridge and ford. Just past the first bridge we went off into a group of hemlocks where the explorers found a new and well-constructed den under one of the trees. They also had a look at the burn and may or may not have seen an old piece of bog oak under the water. Back to the path and a quick look at a gatepost made out of a bit of railway line and on to a row of old oak trees where the track used to run.

Then we moved quickly to the grove of big old oaks where we left the track and headed off up the hill. I had hoped to cut through to the fence here but the fallen trees made it too difficult and after investigating several routes we made a detour before we eventually got through and reached open ground. The explorers gathered round an old oak covered in lichens, but I didn’t stop and pushed on up the hill through the scattered oak trees.

Just where we left the shelter of the last tree, Sharon found a patch of Stag’s Horn Clubmoss, the first I had seen at High Mingarry. It was quite a good day for finds – Maighsi had already picked some lungwort from the trees and found a small puff-ball fungus.

The rain had started by this time and we all got fairly wet by the time we got to the bridge. I call it the Magic Bridge but it is known locally as Domnuill Dubh Laidir’s Bridge, after a man called Strong Black Donald MacVarish, who was said to have built it single-handed.

We settled ourselves round the bridge and enjoyed our Tunnock’s wafers while I pondered on the best route back; the hill down to High Mingarry was rather steep for such slippery conditions. We set off on a new route which none of the expeditions had followed before, along the head dyke above a field west of the wood. The going was very rough and not made easier by a dispute between Cody and Bramble regarding path-finding priorities. Halfway along the path the wind became quite fierce, but we soon got into the shelter of the trees again.

We had to climb through the fence into the wood and follow the burn down through the woods back to the original track – I think the explorers were surprised to see how close to home they were.

We pushed on down the hill and just arrived at the cars as the forecast downpour started.

Not everyone got to the Loch Shiel Hotel, but some good drawings were turned out, some of them in colour, thanks to the hotel crayons, but I picked out JJ’s picture of the explorers around the den in the woods. Note all the branches stacked round the trunk of the tree and the toadstool near Sharon.

John Dye








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