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
