From castle to jungle - a work in progress

[dogplodder]

After walking the West Highland Way and Great Glen Way I had the bright idea we should keep going and head for John o' Groats. I fondly imagined the section over the Black Isle would be easy walking on farm and forest tracks but this turned out not to be quite the full picture.

We set off in high spirits from Inverness Castle. I had to get a photo of Flora MacDonald as the statue of her and her dog was a thing of wonder to me as a small child up from Yorkshire spending summer holidays with my grandparents. Partly the tale of Flora disguising the prince as her maidservant and rowing him to safety and partly because I wanted a dog.

Inverness Castle and Flora MacDonald

Cathedral

River Ness and bridges

We walked down from the castle past the town house now looking smart after its facelift, a place special to me because my other granny had worked here as town clerk after the Great War and before she married in the 1920s.

Town house

River Ness

Douglas Row was where Tom Swanston (former minister of the West Church on other side of river) had planned to retire to but died before he had a chance to. He was an unforgettable character and this pretty row of houses always makes me think of him.

Douglas Row

We followed the river along past another historic building which Cromwell apparently had built with stone taken from the ruins of Ormond Castle at Avoch.

Cromwell's Tower

This information plaque overlooking the Beauly Firth is not strictly accurate.

Beauly Firth with Moray Firth sign

Ord Hill and Kessock Bridge

So far so good and all very sedate walking along pavements. The first slightly odd thing the route asked us to do was step over a fence, shimmy up the embankment on a steep muddy path and climb over a metal barrier to gain access to the A9 leading on to the Kessock Bridge. I suspect that path has been made more by football fans heading for the stadium than the few and far between walkers of the John o' Groats Trail.

We crossed as instructed on the east side of the bridge, which was a pity as the views west are better but we couldn't see them. Once over the bridge we looked out for the narrow path going off to the right when the pavement ended. Shortly after starting up it I took out a pole as the path was overgrown with branches and had to be battled through. This was a foretaste of what was yet to come.

The path kept going up with a few turns, steps and pushing through prickly gorse and finally tipped us out on to the main track that goes round Ord Hill, a familiar walk with the dogs.

View west from Ord Hill (Dec 2018)

Zoomed to Kilmuir (Dec 2018)

We kept our eyes open for the gate in the fence and the path that would lead us through the Christmas tree farm.

Waterlogged track through Christmas tree farm

Christmas trees each with a label

We followed the path to the gate with the stile alongside and were glad we didn't have to go over the stile. Wedged at its foot between two rows of fences on the far side was a dead sheep which it would have been difficult to avoid standing on. It looked like the poor thing had got trapped there.

WH said the track eventually fades out but we didn't expect to come up against a wall of gorse so solid that we had no choice but to retrace our steps and head on to the edge of a field. There was no evidence of a path but it was the right direction and we kept to the left edge of the field.

Field of bulls (we came face to face higher up)

As we gained the brow of the hill we saw a group of what turned out to be quite large young bulls at a feeding station in our field - and there was no fence between them and us. When they saw us they were curious enough to stop munching and approach. So for the second time on this walk I took my pole out of my rucksack, the theory being that looking like I was calmly in charge of the situation was the way to go. We walked on calmly, they followed at a respectful distance and once we were through the next open gate they lost interest and went back to their lunch. Poor lads, I suspect they don't have long for this world. All the same I was glad we didn't have a dog with us as spooked by a dog the outcome could have been more worrying.

Field of sheep and Loch Lundie

We followed the WH directions and reached an open area with views over the Black Isle towards Ben Wyvis then Munlochy Bay.

Black Isle and distant Ben Wyvis

Ford over Drynie Burn

Mud flats of Munlochy Bay at low tide

Path to shoreline

With the proximity of Munlochy Bay to the dog walkers of Munlochy I had expected to find a decent path along the shoreline. But there was no such thing. It was lumpy and squelchy with only occasional traces of what once was a path. Not for the first time we remarked that the John o' Groats Trail doesn't appear to be a much frequented route.

Squelchy enough to need a boat

A bit further along we came to where an electric fence has been erected blocking the way to the next JOGT marker we could see a bit further up the bank. It didn't feel quite right to crawl under it so we kept going a bit further and parallel to the fence until we reached a gate surrounded by a muddy moat which didn't look like it was a gate that had been opened in the last 20 years and would collapse if we climbed it. So we had no alternative than to crawl under the electric fence, getting wet knees in the process as the ground was so sodden.

Electric fence we crawled under

We then back-tracked to the sign we'd seen before and tried to follow the path it marked but it was an awkward overgrown narrow path which didn't feel right. That fortunately didn't last long and we emerged onto a vehicle track that gave easy walking to join the B9161 at Littlemill Bridge.

Only now on rereading the WH instructions it has dawned on me it really wasn't right and we shouldn't have been there. There is no mention of the route going down to the edge of Munlochy Bay and despite the JOGT signs we were following we were off track. Not sure where we went wrong and maybe I was just too keen to get down to the water's edge to pay too close attention to the words!

The next part along the road to Munlochy was unpleasant as the road is winding with hedges on either side so you can't see what's coming, has no verge to walk on and is busy with fast-moving traffic. We were thankful to reach Munlochy unscathed and take the turning on to the quiet road to the left of the Allangrange Arms.

Allangrange Arms, Munlochy

The next stage of the route from Munlochy to Culbokie was much better with no more battling through gorse, bulls or electric fences. Not far up the road we turned right onto a good path through woodland.

Hill o' Hirdie Wood (Munlochy)

For us both it was our first visit to the Clootie Well and although we knew what to expect I don't think we expected the extent of the area festooned with discarded clothing. To me it was a depressing mess.

Clootie Well

We crossed the road and headed up the farm road opposite.

Harvest in

White house

Bogbuie Wood

Nearing Culbokie and hills of Easter Ross

Out of the shelter of the woods we were in the full blast of the wind, as can be seen by the rowan leaves in this shot of the berries.

We met a lovely old man who was a local and told us the inn wasn't open so no chance of a place to kill an hour and a half before our bus was due. As we walked through the village we discussed what to do when we saw a service bus stopped by the side of the road. When we reached it we spoke to the driver who said he would be leaving in half an hour, an hour earlier than the one we had planned to get. That was music to our ears and even better that we could get a comfy seat out of the wind while we waited.

Allowing for the mistake we made going down to the shore of Munlochy Bay, I'd still say this route is a work in progress. Apart from the signs nothing much appears to have been done to bring it to the standard of long distance routes like WHW, GGW or SSW and, if they've done any of these, folk expect something similar. Maybe with the popularity of N500 there isn't felt to be any need to attract people to use this route? It's a pity.

[gld73]

That was a useful report, thanks - I'd been thinking of doing this walk one day when the clouds are too low to bother going up a hill, but sounds like some of it isn't too enjoyable! Certainly walking along the road into Munlochy doesn't appeal, I'm surprised that the route of an advertised trail goes on a dangerous section of road like that, however short.

[Gordie12]

Hi DP.

Your comments tie in with everything I've read about this route (a work in progress).

I'm probably going to leave the full walk for a bit to see if things improve.

You still managed to get some good photos.

[dogplodder]

That was a useful report, thanks - I'd been thinking of doing this walk one day when the clouds are too low to bother going up a hill, but sounds like some of it isn't too enjoyable! Certainly walking along the road into Munlochy doesn't appeal, I'm surprised that the route of an advertised trail goes on a dangerous section of road like that, however short.

I agree about walkers on this bit of road. Hopefully the route will be diverted before there's a casualty.

[dogplodder]

Hi DP.

Your comments tie in with everything I've read about this route (a work in progress).

I'm probably going to leave the full walk for a bit to see if things improve.

You still managed to get some good photos.

Thanks Gordie. We'd like to keep going.... but further north is meant to be worse so maybe not.

[Jay Wilson]

Hi all,
Speaking for the charity that is developing this trail from Inverness to John o' Groats, we can confirm that the trail is a work in progress. Three years ago the trail didn't even exist on the ground, and all the works that have taken place between Inverness and Dornoch have been volunteer efforts with no council or other support. Further north we've had some wind farm and other funding.

Works in places like the path up from the Kessock Bridge to Ord Hill (previously completely overgrown with brambles and gorse) and the Christmas tree farm (now occasionally muddy but passable) which before was not passable. Both took the hard wok of volunteers to open up.

I do think this report focuses strongly on the negative. The positive is that the walk described joins Inverness to Culbokie, which previously was impossible to do on foot without walking almost the entire distance on roads, and does so by joining up several pleasant woodland walks. Also the entire distance is marked, allowing almost anyone with a good pair of waterproof boots to do the walk any time. Overall, the trail allows a walk from Inverness to JoG that was previously a road walk most of the way, and now it is a beautiful adventure for sure-footed walkers from all over the world.

By the way, when you were by the boat by the shore of Munlochy Bay, you had just walked past a sign directing you to cut across the field at high tide, which would have made your walk easier and drier and is the reason the path by the water isn't much trod.

In 10 years, if we are lucky and get funding, the whole trail will be a good well-drained walking surface, and people will complain that there are too many people on it like the WHW, instead of about the occasional muddy patch or other inconvenience. You can choose which you would rather experience.

For those interested to support the trail and make it better, volunteers may contact us through our web site jogt.org.uk, which also has a "Donate" button on the home page.

[gld73]

Oh dear, we're an ungrateful bunch! Yes, the volunteers are doing a great job, and nothing is perfect overnight

Personally speaking, the stretch on the B9161 from Littlemill Bridge to Munlochy is the bit that concerns me - it's a dangerous enough stretch of road to be in a vehicle, let alone walking on the road with no verge to jump on to. Is there any hope of a landowner letting a strip of land be used for a safer route?

[dogplodder]

Hi all,
Speaking for the charity that is developing this trail from Inverness to John o' Groats, we can confirm that the trail is a work in progress. Three years ago the trail didn't even exist on the ground, and all the works that have taken place between Inverness and Dornoch have been volunteer efforts with no council or other support. Further north we've had some wind farm and other funding.

Works in places like the path up from the Kessock Bridge to Ord Hill (previously completely overgrown with brambles and gorse) and the Christmas tree farm (now occasionally muddy but passable) which before was not passable. Both took the hard wok of volunteers to open up.

I do think this report focuses strongly on the negative. The positive is that the walk described joins Inverness to Culbokie, which previously was impossible to do on foot without walking almost the entire distance on roads, and does so by joining up several pleasant woodland walks. Also the entire distance is marked, allowing almost anyone with a good pair of waterproof boots to do the walk any time. Overall, the trail allows a walk from Inverness to JoG that was previously a road walk most of the way, and now it is a beautiful adventure for sure-footed walkers from all over the world.

Apologies if the tone of my report is overly negative. The volunteers have done a great job opening up parts that were overgrown and linking existing paths - and for that we thank them. But the previously overgrown parts need to be maintained or the brambles and gorse will reclaim them. Would it be helpful if we went back with secateurs and did some pruning? I think too that potentially walking through livestock needs to be flagged up to anyone with a dog. The dangerous road section is also not ideal.

I would love to continue with the route but when I suggested doing the next stage my pal said she'd gone off the idea. I'll need to work on her!