EK News Article by Eric Kent:
This week's Duncanrig Ramblers walks were in Perthshire which is a great favourite with the membership as there are such a diverse number of great walks in this very scenic part of Scotland.  The alternative walk commenced at Bridge of Cally and finished at Blairgowrie following a section of the Cateran Trail for as distance of close to 7miles. The Cateran Trail is a walking route based on the tracks used for the activities of cattle rustling and cattle droving i.e. stealing by the outlaws or Cateran's and also the movement of the hill cattle from the Highland Glens to the markets in the south of Scotland and on into England. The main walk this week was from Enochdhu to Kirkmichael covering a distance of 8miles and the first two miles or so of today's walk followed this trail. Enochdhu (this Gaelic name translates to "Black Moor ") is a small community further up Strathardie from the village of Kirkmichael and. This area is full of megalithic standing stones most of which the significance has been lost. However, two of the stones were passed by on today's walk. The first stone near the start of the walk is called the Giant's Grave and stands two metres high and is said to mark the spot where the Danes killed the Highland Chief Ard -Fhuil and two of his lieutenants. The second stone is sited close to the southeast corner of Calamanach Wood and although the stone is likely to be megalithic in origin it has only been there since 1988, the time when an estate worker Alistair McRae decided to place it by the trail. Apparently many people have tried to research the story of this stone not realising it was placed there as a practical joke!  At the Calamanach Wood we left the Cateran trail and headed over the moor to the top of Menachban (448 metres).  The overcast cloud condition and decidedly cool wind from the north-east that was encountered for the greater part of the walk helped to keep the walkers cool during the climb to the top. From there we crossed over some rough moorland in a north easterly direction to reach a lunch hut used during the grouse shooting where we enjoyed our lunch break. On the way to the hut we were lucky to catch sight of a number of Roe Deer which were moving rapidly away from our group. After lunch we moved westward over more rough moorland between Cnoc Meadon and Cnoc a' Chaorainn into Coire a' Bhaile. There we joined the old drove road which runs between Lair and Kirkmichael. The drove road winds round the eastern side of Cnoc an Daimh down to Ashintully Castle which was built by Colonel David Spalding in the 1500's. The Spalding's who ancestors were English but received grants of land in Scotland from Robert the Bruce for helping to seize the town of Berwick in 1318. The Spalding's lost their lands due to the support they gave to Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745. Ashintully Castle sited one mile southeast of the now ruined Whitefield Castle is built on the same design and is reputed to have a tunnel which linked up with Whitefield Castle. King Malcolm 111 "Canmore"who killed Macbeth in 1057 built Whitefield Castle as a hunting lodge around 1060. As we approached Ashintully Castle, the drove road became less distinct and we had to rely on well marked direction posts and stiles all the way down from the castle through rough farmland to the finish of the walk at the scenic village of Kirkmichael which straddles the River Ardle. Kirkmichael was famous for the fairs which were started there in 1615 by David 'Deas' Spalding. These events were very successful due to the number of drove roads that converged at Kirkmichael. The main cattle fair was held in September and at one time it was considered the largest cattle market in Scotland. The village was also well known for its local markets where most of the sales were completed by tradition when the purchaser passed his money to the seller over the silver burn which runs through the village into the river. During the last hour of the walk the weather improved considerably and we enjoyed sunshine for the rest of the walk and into the evening. During the main walk today we were fortunate to see the following bird life - heron, oyster catchers, curlews, pied wagtails, swallows and martins, grouse, pheasants and a pair of buzzards. Again at the end of the walk we disturbed two further Roe Deer who jumped a fence and run up the park past all the walkers. The speed and grace of these animals was a memory to treasure. Flowers spotted during the walk marsh marigold dog violet and tormentil. The social hour was enjoyed by all at Blairgowrie famous for its soft fruit in the summer months.