The Ben Lawers Pass Road

Bridge of Balgie (north end) - Meggernie estate walk, 18th May

Bridge of Balgie

Pass road

Parked in a small bay on the left of the pass road, just up from the Bridge of Balgie, over the River Lyon at the northern end.  Glimpse of junction of the burn with the Lyon through the trees. The burn, running steeply down the hill beneath the winding road, had a complicated Gaelic name which was hard to read on the map (my eyes, anyway): I read it as Allt Ballea Mhullino. Near the car park, a board with a map of the area, plus a handy leaflet for the forest walk. 

Path began 130m down from the car park, off to the right (east). As we went along, vague recollections from when we did this walk five years ago. First part following waterfalls, along steep burns, or rather right now, trickling rivulets. As well they were on the low side as some sections of the bridges and board walks a little rickety, or at least looked so. These clearly made (very helpfully) to save walkers from normally boggy ground. Apart from near the lochans at the top, this really wasn't an issue, even the more mossy ground either dry or drying out. We did, though must negotiate a see-saw where the path had come undone as we walked from the southern to northern loch. Both much lower than before, especially the northern one which was now very shallow and looking more like bog than a pond. The path to the top of the hill then ran through conifer plantations (presumably the source of the timbers for the path). Boring but at least we weren't plagued by midges. Maybe the dry weather has put them off, though I'd have thought it would have to be very very dry to banish them completely, dry enough for the rivers to banish completely, probably.

Came out at the larger upper cp and wandered down to have lunch above the road, before taking it across the pass to Loch Tay and Killin. 

Up over the pass road and down to Loch Tay - cycle challenges / ghosts of cycles past

While I was sketching in Killin on 25th May, my Cycling Man cycled along the southern shore of Loch Tay to Kenmore, along the Glen Lyon road to Bridge of Balgie, and over the Ben Lawers pass back down to the Loch Tay road to Killin. About 50 miles, with over 1000 metres in total of climbing (almost as much as on the Etape. 550m of this over the pass.  It was steep. He got thumbs up from drivers going over the steep bit, along with looks of disbelief. 

I'll tell my folk that: among my memories of my very first holiday in Scotland Perthshire during the early 1980s involved hiring bicycles and going out on a 30 mile ride from Fearnan, taking in much of my Cycling Man's route above, the pass road included. Amid the similarly very warm sunshine, the first bit along Glen Lyon was very pleasant. The pass road was perhaps a bit ambitious for a family unused to long bike rides, especially in the heat of the day. A challenge, even with a bike with low gears like Cycling Man's, let alone the somewhat basic bikes we hired, complete with with collapsible handlebars. My father was on the receiving end of lots of cussing and cursing from me, my mother and younger brother and he repeatedly had to keep badgering motorists parked along the route for spanners in an attempt to fix the handlebars. We can only have walked all the way up, though once we were heading down (by then handlebars stable) I was determined to get round the course, and I'm pleased with myself in hindsight for doing so.

Ben Lawers Nature Reserve and the Lawers Dam - more on Perthshire Hydropower - the Breadalbane Scheme

Ben Lawers Nature Reserve

Hazy view south

Small burn with dam

26th May - An early start to beat the heat on the last day of our fortnight in Perthshire, leaving cottage at 8.00am. Parked at the nature reserve car park before 9.00am. This made a huge difference, not just the heat, but busyness in cp as well. It helped, too being higher up, therefore, more breeze. This took the edge off the heat, it felt pleasantly sunny, the higher the better, though still hot and close out of the wind. High level cumulus above the mountains while we were out. Still low mist over loch beneath us as we headed along the A'road to the Ben Lawers pass turning. Steep uphill from main road. A cyclist out, a runner. Parked in car park off to the left, for the Ben Lawers nature reserve. The car park has moved since the 1980s and there's no visitor centre now. They thought the one vaguely remembered from my very first Perthshire holiday  was too intrusive; though the day we went it was surrounded by thick fog, so I wouldn't know.. Ben Lawers mountain (1241m) off up to our right (E), though peak hidden behind the lower peak Beinn Ghlas.

Near car park, stonework / sculpture / inscriptions pertaining to the nature reserve and surroundings​, sundial. Picked up leaflet and turned right to follow one mile trail   around area enclosed with sheep / deer fences - Errichty trail? - near the path up the mountain. Points of interest marked along the way. Unlike much of the surrounding land, small trees and more plant life here generally: the fences are to keep out grazing animals. Outside of this area, only trees where no grazing, including ash, mountain willow. Various wildflowers, including wood anemone. A board walk over a boggy area. Here "midge eaters" growing. Carnivorous plants similar to Venus Flytrap, which feed on midges to obtain nitrogen. Not flowering just yet, but soon will be, I expect. Out of the breeze it felt buggy. Walking along the path, Cycling Man saw a lizard, both saw a toad. Probably a toad and not a frog, looked quite large. Tadpoles in some of the pools feeding the burn, taking two years to turn into frogs apparently. A burn ran down, through the middle of the area, the low water level due to the small dam just upstream (see hydropower notes below). Hills on south side of Loch Tay very hazy, couldn't see Ben More to the far west, beyond Glen Dochart, heading back down road in car later.

 

The top of the pass road

Lawers Dam

Leaving this trail, we followed the pass road up to the Lawers Dam at the top. Views of Tarmachan ridge above to the west. Passed by a couple of cyclists coming down the hill after climbing up from Glen Lyon.

Above the Lawers Dam, the lochan level was at least as low as it had been last week, with steep sand and gravel / boulder banks high and dry several metres above the water. Surely they must be at / near the lower limit here, though the pipeline comes out of the base of the dam. No water flow out of the dam, all along the pipe. Pipe disappeared into hillside after about 250m.

Sketched amid various comings and goings on and around the dam. The pass road was getting busier, very busy for a steep single track road. As well Carl did his ride yesterday. Much less busy then, he says. When we arrived, a National Trust for Scotland van parked in the layby leading to the dam walkway / roadway. A couple of people got out and crossed. Then, two SSE / Scottish Hydro vans, including a green and blue SSE branded van, with trailer. Reversing manoeuvres into the layby, with trailer attached. One guy guiding the driver. They unhitched the trailer as they drove out onto the middle of the dam walkway , though otherwise reversed with the trailer still attached (tricky business). They pushed it as far as the middle towers, the vans reversing behind it. Meanwhile, another guy below the dam, in another SSE branded van, with another hi-vis guy seemingly inspecting the pipe. As he struck it several times, the low ringing sound travelled readily across to where we were. Small waterfall coming down mountainside above the pipe also very audible. 

Among the other passing cars / trucks, an ASDA delivery van heading down to Glen Lyon. Not long after the SSE guys, a convoy of sports cars pulled up and stopped to take photos, blocking the road for a while. Mix of English and Dutch.

 

Looking north, Ben Lawers Nature Reseve

After walking back down, we turned right before the car park onto a contouring "cobbled" track: way up from here to the Tarmachans. It contours around 500m, following the tunnel the pipe from the dam leads into. Passed by an SSE van, the guy beneath the dam earlier checking out the pipe, perhaps. Early lunch sat on a rock just off the road looking over the still hazy Loch Tay.

Car park busy by the time we got back. Headed off about half-twelve, with a view to going on to Aberfeldy and The Watermill cafe.

Breadalbane Hydropower Scheme

Handy map near Lawers Dam showed the network. Everything in darker blue, aqueducts. These included most of the rivers, including the Dochart, and Tay at Kenmore. Scheme dates from 1956.

Take-home message: hydropower with dams of various sizes, pipelines, aqueducts, tunnels reservoirs throughout the highland Tay basin. As well as the Tummel basin schemes with everything ultimately feeding through the Pitlochry Dam, also the western catchment involving the Lyon, Lochay, Dochart and Loch Tay. As with the Tummel scheme, water transferred between catchments via pipelines and tunnels. This is the Breadalbane scheme. These schemes will affect river levels. Anything not leaked or evaporated eventually finds its way to the Tay, but low river / reservoirs within its basin not necessarily due to low rainfall. Most notably the Loch na Lairidge reservoir we saw today. Don't know how this compares with lochs / reservoirs in upper Glen Lyon.

The pipeline from the Lawers Dam, after disappearing into the mountainside tunnel, contours round at about 500m, before coming out as the section of pipeline visible from Loch Tay / crossed on the main road into Killin, at Finlarig power station. The head from the dam is 415m, the highest on the network . Glimpse Finlarig power station and the lower end of the pipe from the Loch Tay road into Killin.

 In the upper Lyon basin, three dams: Lubreach Dam, Loch Lyon near the head of the glen; the Loch an Daimh dam in a tributary valley; and the Stronuich Reservoir and Dam on the Lyon. Loch Lyon storage loch. Not natural. Loss of fish spawning grounds here.

 The Lochay is the second most abstracted river in the Tay basin. The first is the Garry (ref 1).  In lower reaches, a power station, with water piped from Stronuich Reservoir in the Lyon basin. Upper basin abstracted and piped into Loch Lyon.

References:

1. The Tay Western Catchments Projects, Scottish Natural Woods (2010)

2. Hydropower schemes – Power from the Glens, Scottish Southern Energy (SSE) http://sse.com/media/87078/powerfromtheglens.pdf

Pitlochry, Killiecrankie, Hydropower

During about the past fifteen years, we've come to know Pitlochry quite well, especially the view of the River Tummel and Ben Vrakie from the cafe of the Festival Theatre. Cuppas there not just just while we've been staying in the area, but also when heading along the A9 towards / back from Inverness, the Highlands and islands. I stayed for a couple of nights here at the SYHA, at  the end of April last year, stopping over here after our Strath Spey and Inverness trip. When we were here five years ago, we climbed up Ben Vrakie. The focal point, is the hydropower dam on the River Tummel, with the Loch Faskally reservoir above it.

Our trip here on May 19th, was for My Cycling Man to register for the Caledonian Etape, picking up his number. Before doing that, we looked round the dam area, including the new Visitor Centre all about the dam and the wider Tummel hydropower scheme(see below). This opened last February. That Friday, everything was kicking, or rather wheeling off, ahead of the Etape on the Sunday: stalls / registration / parking being set up, cyclists arriving. As always the main street was very crowded, though more with the grockel crowds than Etappers. We avoided it on the Saturday, when we expected even more people to be descending on the town, and the parking trickier. We did, though head over in the evening to meet up with another Etape / cycling friend from Inverness, over an curry in the Indian restaurant. The portions were, let's say very generous. We didn't finish it all, the two Etapees needing to pace themselves and show restraint ahead of the big ride the next day.

After the Etape, we returned on Wednesday 24th May to revisit the Loch Faskally- Garry Gorge - Killiecrankie walk.

River Garry and Killiecrankie, 24th May

Weather warming up, broken cloud, brightest weather in morning and late afternoon. Westerly breeze at least to keep midges away (most of them) and take edge off the warmth. Still 18-19C, but always feels warmer up here.

An out-and-back walk along the eastern shore of Loch Faskally, rather than the circular walk taking in the Lin of Tummel. Western side of loch, more road and less shade. Large part of eastern shore shaded.

Parked in cp near the Pitlochry Dam visitor centre. A brief stretch along the loch shore from there. Water level much higher this morning than last Friday, but down again when we came back this way. Variation clearly to do with the dam / hydropower releases, and not hydrological. A strandline where water had been during the morning. After diverting round posh hotel etc., returned to Loch shore and followed path under A9 aluminium road bridge high above the loch. Footbridge nearby, and remains of stone bridge which existed here prior to the dam beginning operating in 1950.

Inland again, following undulating path past lochan where water lilies growing. Then rejoined the shore and followed it round past the fisheries research centre. Clunie power station visible on far side. Then continued round Faskally house, entering the wooded Glen Garry.

Path started off on the flat as the river opened out into the loch, water flowing on the far side of broad gravel, or rather boulder banks. Bigger clasts (about 30cm) here than along the Lyon or Tay, implying faster flows. A boating party of youngsters, paddling in several large dinghies, instructions "Change your captain!".

The river then narrowed and steepened in the gorge towards Killiecrankie, the path climbing above it. A section with rapids. Another party of youngsters drifted down the rapids laid back in rubber ring type boats / coracle size dinghies.

Went under the high road bridge (gondola beneath for maintenance), where the dark water flowed in deep pools, the steeply dipping rocks continuing steeply down into the water. This was very clear as we stood on the (now reopened) footbridge looking along the gorge towards the road bridge downstream, and towards Killiecrankie upstream. Last year, when I came this way, the footbridge had been closed following the storms (Desmond, Dec 2015) the previous winter. Though well above the river, landslips on the steep sided valley made it too unstable. On the nearside of the bridge, still a big hole of loose soil, till etc. where the slippage had occurred.

The diversion up to the main road / General Wade's road just below it had gone now, too. The path beneath the railway viaduct was now open and could follow that all the way to Killiecrankie. Still lots of debris from the 2015/16 winter storms / floods on the banks between the path and the river, including uprooted trees, large branches, though now getting absorbed into this year's spring greenery.

A charcoal kiln, beech trees invasive species up here, apparently.

Another stretch of rapids just before the viaduct. The valley beneath the viaduct wider, with broad boulder banks. Lunch on a bench beneath the viaduct, carrying the Perth-Inverness line. A quick sketch of the view looking upriver towards the Soldier's Leap.  Brief because a few midges about.

Soldiers Leap reached by climbing up onto cliff above river. At the Leap, the river narrowed (jump was 5.5m), constrained between steeply dipping, thickly bedded rocks. White water / waterfall. A quick sketch of the waterfall as people came and went. My Cycling Man sat on the bench overlooking the viaduct, though no trains until we'd walked back downstream of the viaduct. Flow through the waterfall very respectable, i.e. there was something to see here. Likewise further down the gorge, too. Flow also good on small burns / drainage running under viaduct. For some reason, SEPA's Killiecrankie flow gauge has read on the very low side everytime I've looked during the past year. I assume it is sited in the deeper part of the river, and not on a big shallow bolder bank, liable to be readily high and dry when the river falls. 

Killiecrankie and The Soldier's Leap

My overall impression was of a more natural, less regulated river than the Tummel, or the Lyon even, with a more varied, more flashy flow. Actually, according to the River Tay Western Catchments (Scottish Nature Woods, 2010), the Garry is the most heavily abstracted river in the Tay basin. It is considerably influenced by hydropower infrastructure: there is a dam at the end of Loch Errochty, in a tributary valley on the right bank. The Garry runs close to the A9 for much of its way above Killiecrankie, after flowing east out of Loch Garry. Though not apparent from the OS Landranger map, there is a pipeline transferring water from Loch Garry into Loch Ericht (SSE – Tummel hydropower scheme maps). 

Dam and Fish Ladder, Visitor Centre, Hydropower in Perthshire

Visitor Centre

On the lower floor of the centre, there was an exhibition about the building of the dam; its completion in 1950; and the extensive Loch Tummel hydropower scheme; and how hydropower works. As with the John Muir Trust's exhibition in the main street, it was all done well: i.e. informative without dry, stuffy info' overload, and not dumbed down to be trendy or get down with the kids either. There was a mix of short bits of text, audio-visual, interactive touchscreen, and some very effective interactive models. A large display case filled with electrical appliances dating from the 1950s, about the time the dam began operating. Compared to now, all very basic and sparse looking, though probably better built to last. I tried out one of the touchscreens - designing a hydropower scheme - "Well done, you're an apprentice engineer, though need more on-the-job training". There were wind-up models of the fish ladder Pitlochry, electromagnetism (generators). Particularly effective was the turn-the-handle and see if you can light up the light bulbs. This couldn't have demonstrated the dramatic difference in power demand (wattage) between a halogen bulb and LED.  

This scheme, and Scottish hydropower more generally is now managed by SSE, Scottish Southern Energy.  Out and about by the Pitlochry dam and the Lawers Dam (next entry) we saw their blue and green vans. 

In the centre of the room, a large 3D map showing the sheer spatial extent of the scheme upstream of the Pitlochry dam, involving power stations, smaller dams, pipelines and tunnels. I also have a booklet Pitlochry and the Tummel Valley produced by one of SSE's predecessors, though I can't see a date on it (a while ago judging from the cars and fashions pictured).

Clunie Dam

The total area of the scheme is 1800 square kilometres. Ultimately, all the water comes through the Pitlochry dam, but along the way it will often have generated power more than once. Water can be transferred between lochs, even river catchments, as demand requires. It's mainly the Tummel catchment, including Loch Tummel and Loch Rannoch and the long narrow NE-SW running Loch Ericht  to the west. At the northern end, Dalwhinnie, it takes in headwaters from the Spey (Glen Truim).  When walking to / from Killiecrankie, Clunie power station was on the far side, near where the Tummel and Garry join at the head of Loch Faskally. Enroute to forest walks in the Glen Tummel and Loch Rannoch area (23rd May), we passed Tummel power station on the south side of the River Tummel just below Tummel Bridge, completely unaware of the aqueduct conveying water between Dunalastair reservoir (between Loch Rannoch and Loch Tummel) and Loch Tummel. On the road on along the north shore of Loch Tummel, we passed Errochty Power Station whidh receives water via a pipeline from Loch Errochty and burns on the left bank of the River Garry. At 75MW, this is the largest power station on the network and has the biggest head (gradient between power station and reservoir), 186m. The installed capacity at the Pitlochry dam is 15MW. During our forest walk above the south shore of Loch Rannoch (Carie Burn, 23rd May), a view of a pipeline coming down the hillside to Rannoch power station on the NW shore of the loch. This came down from Loch Ericht.

There is also the Breadalbane scheme affecting the Tay Basin via Loch Tay and Glen Lyon (see next entry).

Above the gallery, a cafe, the floor overhanging to look out onto the dam. A balcony on the lower level, though had to go outside to access that. Had a cuppa here after our Killiecrankie walk. 

References and Links

1. The Tay Western Catchments Projects, Scottish Natural Woods (2010)

2. Hydropower schemes – Power from the Glens, Scottish Southern Energy (SSE) http://sse.com/media/87078/powerfromtheglens.pdf

3.Overview of the Tummel Valley Hydropower Scheme http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst3844.html

J

Glen Lyon and the Caledonian Etape

Sketching Waterfalls in Glen Lyon

From Fearnan around 8.00am, I walked down the road down north towards the Bridge of Lyon and Fortingall in Glen Lyon. As the big yellow signs had warned,  the roads either side of the Bridge of Lyon were among those closed that Sunday morning. This was because of the Caledonian Etape, in which my Cycling Man was participating. 

Having registered and got his number at Pitlochry on Friday, he set off from the cottage before 4.00am. They start the event, at Pitlochry, before 7.00am to minimise the disruption to everyone else caused by road closures throughout Highland Perthshire. He also needed to be sure of getting parked, which didn't appear to be a given, though in the event he had no problem. As I walked now to Bridge of Lyon, there were already marshals stopping the cars from going any further at the junction just before the bridge. Crossed the Bridge of Lyon and turned left at the next junction to follow the Glen Lyon road. A blockade of cones and a Road Closed sign  at this junction, too. I said good morning to the marshal in the red car. 

Though the Glen Lyon road west of here was open, it was handy having the others shut as it meant I could have a quiet walk along this one, below Macgregor's Leap. Valley here steep and wooded as the road ran above the Lyon gorge. Found a stile in the fence. Ground sloping steeply down, so had to watch it, but it meant I could get off the road and down nearer the river. Came upon a narrow, steep strid of white water, below it circular pools the water had sculpted into the rock. Raining a bit and a few midges, but I had this view all to myself. 

Did three sketches, sketched enthusiastically and almost lost track of time. As Cycling Man thought he might get to this area sometime after 11.00am, I thought I'd better get back to the road junction where the man with the red car was and look out for him. I only made it just in time as he was a bit early. 

A constant stream of cyclists along the road from Fortingall heading across the Bridge of Lyon and then turning left at the next junction. 

Contrary to what the forecast had led us to believe, the middle of the day was wet. Up until shortly after I'd seen my Cycling Man, it was cloudy and damp. Then the rain started raining more heavily. I stayed on watching at the junction for about the next hour (when the stream was waning) not wanting to get in the way of the riders. The man with the red car had a spare golfing umbrella inside it, and was kind enough to lend it to me. Despite the weather (albeit relatively dry until that point, my Cycling Man said afterwards), a good vibe. Some of the riders, legs by then bound to be tiring after the big long climb up the Schiehallion Road from Loch Rannoch, said hello, thankyou. A few sarcastic calls of "lovely day for it".

As the stream starting ebbing, I headed along the lane to Fortingall, though I still needed to keep in on and off for the riders at the back, particularly across a bridge over a tributary burn just before Fortingall church. In the churchyard, the Fortingall Yew, said to be 5000 years old (at the roots). Said to be the oldest tree in Britain, if not Europe. Paving slabs with an inscribed timeline noting people who had passed this way: Kings and Queens, now cyclists.

Still raining as I ate my lunch sheltered in the church porch, before a quick look round the plain interior. Still raining, too as I headed back to Fearnan. By then roads reopened, the Etape having passed by. My Cycling Man's time was 5h:40min. He'd anticipated six hours so was very pleased.

Killin and the Head of Loch Tay

Falls of Dochart, River Lochay, Head of Loch Tay

After so much dry / low-water vibe, it was a real moral boost sketching the Falls of Dochart. I'd feared that the water level would be so low that there wouldn't be anything to see here. I hadn't been to Killin since the early 1980s, during the family holiday in this area I mentioned in my introduction. That had been a hot dry summer, around Britain. After a wet winter, no problems south of the Border, though it had seemingly been dry in Scotland. I recall spotting a Save Water poster in Killin and the Falls were low.

The Dochart from the viaduct, 18th May

Two visits to Killin: the first a fairly short one on the afternoon of May 18th, traveling via the Ben Lawers pass road from Glen Lyon. Above sketch done that day. I returned a week later, this time mid-morning to earlier afternoon while my Cycling Man tackled the Ben Lawers pass road on two wheels. Later in the day it was oppressively hot so we get well to get out earlier and do everything we wanted to do. 

Parked in the car park near the old railway bridge over the Lochay, and Bear Scotland depot (highway maintenance, noticed a big cache of road signs round the back, and couldn't resist photographing them before we headed back.

Took the signpost right from the cp to the Falls of Dochart. This followed the old railway route, crossing a viaduct over the River Dochart. Views of the clear, fast running, peaty river either side, though couldn't see much of the structure, the path being on the raised railway embankment. This brought us out to the main street, by the bridge and the Falls. A bit of a tourist honeypot, so fairly busy everywhere, especially on / nearer the bridge, and in the afternoons. Quieter further up, where I sketched.  Where dry, various pools and holes excavated by pebbles caught in the rushing water when running higher, In the deeper areas, white water ran between deep, dark pools. 

By now the Tay has gathered water from Tyndrum (on A82), Crianlarich and all along Glen Dochart, so even in a dry spell, there should still be enough for action. Looks from the map as if this is the only section of the upper Tay which stands, thanks to the locally steep fall over harder rock outcrop. Upstream it all looked fairly steady. It then flattens out and slows down entering the Loch, too. When I returned in the second week, the water level over the Falls looked a bit higher, thanks to the rain over the weekend.

The Head of Loch Tay

The Lochay

Though the Dochart is the better known one because of the Falls, two rivers enter the head of Loch Tay. The second is the Lochay which flows along Glen Lochay, the smallest of the Breadalbane glens, between Glen Dochart and Glen Lyon. Reaching the flatter land around the Loch, it turns abruptly southwards and merges with the Dochart just above the Loch. In constrast to the Dochart at the Falls, the Lochay through Killin was languid and reflective. The path following the old railway route crossed it just before we turned right onto the path along the river to the head of the Loch. 

The Tamachans

Ben Lawers

The Head of Loch Tay

The land just above the loch was  very flat, looking as if it had at one time been all loch here, then subsequently infilled with sediment. Banks of reeds and rough grasses growing. Reaching the loch shore, small areas of sandy beach. Two white sailing boat sails in the distance. We admired the panorama of mountains above the north shore, with Ben Lawers and the Tarmachans, the latter including my Cycling Man's very first Munro, now thirty years ago. The line of oak trees along the northern end of the loch shore provided very welcome shade when I sketched here as the sun climbed on my second visit. 

On the way back, views along the Loch Tay road towards Fearnan and Kenmore, with the church tower built on the rise between the boating / beach area and the Tay bridge.