Descent from the ‘Mannie’ is for expert bikers only!
OUT AND ABOUT WITH RALPH: Hike or bike to Ben Bhraggie above Golspie leads to fine views, but the easier tracks for cycling are in the glen below
It takes about 45 minutes to reach the “Mannie”. Whether you’re a walker, a fit mountain-biker or an unfit e-biker like me, it’s less than an hour to the huge statue of the Duke of Sutherland on the hilltop above Golspie.
It was bracing, the ground still frozen on a bright February morning and a bitter easterly wind. After a good look at the view of sun, sea and moor with the town far below, I turned downwards on the trail which, I’d largely forgotten since my last attempt years ago, was not designed with riders like me in mind.
Only an expert would cope with the rock steps, drop-offs and a 45-degree descent from a bridge over a deer fence. I was soon wishing I was somewhere else – it was difficult even to wheel the bike down the steep drops. It’s a pity as the track takes a fine route across the hillsides with spectacular views.
At long last it was possible to divert onto an easier track through the forests, the descent had me longer than the climb up. After that, I needed a coffee and a cake in the nearby café, before continuing on a more relaxing ride.
It’s many years since I last cycled up the Dunrobin Glen behind Golspie, a lovely route on a sunny morning with a following wind. Parts of the road, where it runs in a narrow hollow-out between lichened walls, will not have changed in a hundred years.
It’s a steady climb through forests with the rolling hills above and the floor of the glen below, the prominent white building of Glen Cottage marking the top of the pass. Beyond lies the real evocative scenery of east Sutherland, far moors stretching to the remote snow-dusted hills of Ben Armine.
But there’s no escaping the 21st century.
These glens at first sight appear peaceful and untouched. However, the whole area has suffered from two centuries of exploitation in order that a few people could become very rich.
First, the people who lived here were evicted by the Sutherland Estate in the infamous clearances, so that fortunes could be made by raising sheep. As the ground degraded, vast sporting estates were created where the wealthy could enjoy shooting the deer and grouse while other wildlife was largely exterminated.
Then came the tax-break forestry of the 1980s, and after that the huge wind farms of Kilbraur and Gordonbush. And remaining forests are being converted to wind farms.
When I first walked the rough 10-mile road from Sciberscross to Ben Armine, nearly 45 years ago, the forest wasn’t even there. Now, if you have eight million to spare, you can buy the 1000-hectare Sciberscross forest, develop a giant wind farm of 200-metre turbines and soon get your money back.
I took a little detour up that long road to Ben Armine Lodge, turning back at a high point where the forests stretched ahead and the white turbines of Kilbraur dominated the view to the south.
Back in the glen, all seemed peaceful with the quiet waters of the river Brora and the occasional farm or shooting lodge. I found a sheltered, sunny spot for lunch, only spoilt by the view of the turning Kilbraur turbines.
The Brora lochs make for a good kayak trip but the great beauty you might expect is lacking, there are too many remains of old settlements and that air of sadness still lingers. Money and the making of it, or the spending of it on expensive sports, dominates the strath.
The cloud had spread over and a biting easterly headwind funnelled up the lochs. That’s when a cyclist really appreciates electric assist, and with that it wasn’t too long before the road entered more sheltered woodland, with the river below. A footbridge, surprisingly still extant after all the floods, took me across to the other side.
There is no need to cycle back to Golspie along the A9, there are various paths and tracks through Uppat and Dunrobin Wood which emerge at Backies, and a new cycle-way links the forest road of Queen’s Drive to the Big Burn woods. A large-scale map is recommended!
Big Burn has long been a favourite spot to stop on a journey, these are the best deciduous woods within easy reach of Caithness with fine bluebell displays in May and a lovely walk up over numerous bridges to the falls. Not advised for a bike though, with a long flight of steps…
I wonder how many A9 sojourners know of these worlds just off the road?
