tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post504242276561766831..comments2024-03-27T21:31:59.376+00:00Comments on Chris Townsend Outdoors: Across Scotland with Pylons (and Fences, Roads and Plantations)Chris Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04282926597863688874noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-66477942283709490452011-03-01T23:45:48.316+00:002011-03-01T23:45:48.316+00:00The new Meall a'Bhuachaille path has few steps...The new Meall a'Bhuachaille path has few steps and is less steep than the old more direct one, which us one season I prefer it.Chris Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04282926597863688874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-15282054006981365982011-02-21T17:37:04.794+00:002011-02-21T17:37:04.794+00:00Interesting that you mention the path on Meall a&#...Interesting that you mention the path on Meall a'Bhuachaille as an improvement. Visually that may be true but if I wanted to walk up stairs I could go to a tower block. And going down it's painful on the knees and often slippery so people will vote with their feet and start creating new paths alongside. I fear it will be well-intentioned, but misplaced effort. The stalkers knew what they Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-80243349630727455742011-02-19T08:17:08.802+00:002011-02-19T08:17:08.802+00:00Good article Chris. Perhaps we should all do the s...Good article Chris. Perhaps we should all do the same and send our photos to our elected representatives to protest. Unfortunately I don't suppose it would do much good. We need people in power with a symapthetic view of the landscape rather than an urban "how can we exploit it" mind set.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-43264673961098895772011-02-18T21:41:32.398+00:002011-02-18T21:41:32.398+00:00great article Chris. I've been thinking about...great article Chris. I've been thinking about this alot in my own photos, having picked up a copy of Fay Godwins 'forbidden land'(after a couple of people on my blog recommended it to me), where she takes 'ugly' pictures of the land as messed with by humans. Its a polemical book and none the worse for that. I think this is something we can all do, to take and show honest selfpoweredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10690224905896399570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-69973716096252856392011-02-18T21:25:26.572+00:002011-02-18T21:25:26.572+00:00As far as I know the zig-zag design of stalkers...As far as I know the zig-zag design of stalkers' paths was for the ponies, especially in descent with dead deer across their backs. I wish stalking estates would go back to using ponies rather than quad bikes (a few do use ponies at least some of the time).Chris Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04282926597863688874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-83876915808919601322011-02-18T21:05:52.084+00:002011-02-18T21:05:52.084+00:00Stalkers paths are am interesting case in point, C...Stalkers paths are am interesting case in point, Chris. Do you happen to know if their zig-zag design was prompted by the idea of gaining height fairly effortlessly? Or was there genuine feel for the need to make them as unobtrusive as possible?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-70558791645537948442011-02-18T20:36:35.050+00:002011-02-18T20:36:35.050+00:00Thanks Alan. Yes, I probably won't be going ba...Thanks Alan. Yes, I probably won't be going back to the Corrieyairick Pass again. The damage is just too great. I agree with you about Glen Feshie. Landslips have destroyed parts of the old path.<br /><br />Mike, old-style stalkers paths would be fine. I'm not in favour of flights of steps. Apart from the unnatural tame look they're actually not that good for walking when icy, so Chris Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04282926597863688874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-24035981402380072812011-02-18T20:18:05.688+00:002011-02-18T20:18:05.688+00:00I hear what you're saying Chris.
If only we co...I hear what you're saying Chris.<br />If only we could bring back the old stalkers.<br />They never built any flights of steps.<br />Different strokes for different folks, as the saying goes.<br />Personally, i wish folk would just leave alone.<br /><br />Mike fae Dundee.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-32572723342607848022011-02-18T19:59:05.876+00:002011-02-18T19:59:05.876+00:00Good piece, Chris: That vehicle track in upper Gle...Good piece, Chris: That vehicle track in upper Glen Feshie criss-crossed the old hill path and now has taken over as the "preferred" line through the glen - the old path has more or less disappeared through lack of use. <br /><br />The new path is utterly charmless.<br /><br />The eastern side of the Corrieyairack Pass is now a complete and utter disaster - completely torn apart by 4x4 Alan Slomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17966543499033330765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-31795715809303350982011-02-18T19:39:31.073+00:002011-02-18T19:39:31.073+00:00Simple erosion doesn't heal that quickly, espe...Simple erosion doesn't heal that quickly, especially if the soil has gone. A path can disappear quite quickly if it's basically hardened soil. Just look at the number of stalking paths that are hard to follow and invisible in places. These are all built paths.Chris Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04282926597863688874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-41921913212729510952011-02-18T19:21:51.832+00:002011-02-18T19:21:51.832+00:00My way of thinking is along these lines.
What woul...My way of thinking is along these lines.<br />What would the area look like if folk stopped walking over it, for whatever reason.<br />Simple erosion would quickly 'heal' over. A built structure/repair is there for a long time.<br /><br />Mike fae Dundee.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-25917920596427017702011-02-18T19:09:53.588+00:002011-02-18T19:09:53.588+00:00Mike, I do find the Carn Liath scar visually intru...Mike, I do find the Carn Liath scar visually intrusive. It's also nasty to walk on, which is why it's getting wider as people break down the edges. It's not being left alone.<br /><br />I wouldn't want a set of stone steps to replace it but a realigned path, probably with zigzags, that didn't go straight up the slope and so wouldn't erode, rather like the one on Chris Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04282926597863688874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-4452714472845387372011-02-18T19:04:09.441+00:002011-02-18T19:04:09.441+00:00I don't find the 'scar' up Carn Liath ...I don't find the 'scar' up Carn Liath offensive though Chris.:)<br /> It's a simple sign of folk walking up the same route. I know it is very obvious from the A9, but it usually brings a smile to my face as i drive past.<br />If someone/organisation built a set of stone steps to replace it, i would find that offensive. Even if it was invisible from the A9.<br /><br />The whole &#Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-57734336273826370532011-02-18T18:33:00.170+00:002011-02-18T18:33:00.170+00:00Mike, I think repairing paths and "improving&...Mike, I think repairing paths and "improving" them can be different. Many paths don't need much work. But some, like the one up Carn Liath on Beinn a'Ghlo, are real scars, visible from a great distance. The path on Meall a'Bhuachaille above Ryvoan Bothy was becoming a scar too. The rerouted path is less conspicuous and shouldn't erode badly. The same applies to the JMT&#Chris Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04282926597863688874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-52845126684418020882011-02-18T18:03:42.326+00:002011-02-18T18:03:42.326+00:00Thought provoking post, Chris.
I'm not too sur...Thought provoking post, Chris.<br />I'm not too sure about eroded paths 'needing something done' though.<br />My gut instinct tells me that the more you 'improve' paths, the heavier the footfall becomes. You now see folk in the heart of the Cairngorms that have obviously just been out for a Sunday drive, and decided to follow a nice path for a wander.<br /> I'm not sure ifAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-43802064588726255722011-02-18T16:14:40.872+00:002011-02-18T16:14:40.872+00:00I think it's a mixture of your last point, the...I think it's a mixture of your last point, the type of materials used and the size of the structures. Stone and wood structures, as old ones mostly are, do blend into the landscape with time. Concrete and aluminium structures don't do so as quickly or as well. But the scale matters too. Giant dams, lines of huge pylons, enormous wind turbines and wide bulldozed roads have much more impactChris Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04282926597863688874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063908328061898266.post-91477105943152531682011-02-18T14:34:22.981+00:002011-02-18T14:34:22.981+00:00Chris, I don't know whether you agree but it s...Chris, I don't know whether you agree but it seems to me that previous generations who worked the land generally seemed - admittedly not in all cases - to do so with greater sensitivity. And when the time came for them to depart left behind structures - walls, buildings - which were somehow less ugly and intrusive.<br /><br />Or perhaps that's just how the effects of moss, subsidence, andAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com