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| Caenlochan Glen and Glas Maol - pastel sketch on paper |
Caenlochan Glen is the upper side shoot of Glen Isla that points towards the dome top of Angus's highest mountain Glas Maol. This glen is famed for its alpine flora and the lush, grassy slopes support a garden of delights for the botanist. It used to be part of the Caenlochan Nature Reserve but the owners declined to be involved in the reserves longevity and no official monitoring of plants has taken place since 1999. After discovering Cicerbita alpina for myself at the Corrie Fee site, my curiosity was spiked to investigate the most famous station for this alpine flower at Caenlochan.
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| Sketching today in Caenlochan Glen |
The grandeur of the crag fringed upper corrie is complimented by dozens of conical drumlins nestling below the steep slopes that lead towards Glas Maol, which is pronounced 'mool', and the plateau that leads north to Cairn o' Claise, which is pronounced 'clashae'. On the south wall there is an overhanging crag where Cicerbita alpina grows on a small ledge just out of reach a few metres up from the grass slopes. In marked contrast to the flourishing Corrie Fee site this outpost of the flower is not looking so good, with only five flowering stems counted and maybe fifteen plants growing. One or two flower-heads have thistle down showing, so within a week's time the flowers will have passed over. In 1848 'several' colonies of this species seems to have been recorded in the glen but only one site survives today, but only just.
The inaccessible turf ledge has had footholds kicked into the delicate surface by over enthusiastic botanists which has led to areas sloughing away from the rock underneath. If you are keen to see this plant, I can only advise that you make no attempt to reach the ledge as access is extremely dangerous and damaging to the protected plant, be happy to take photos from below the ledge on the main grass terrace.
Adenda June 2014; Over the winter and due to abnormal deposits of snow, part of the ledge has suffered a land-slip and removed many plants, some hanging by the roots and one plant is regrowing fairly low down. Please do not climb up to the ledge.
The inaccessible turf ledge has had footholds kicked into the delicate surface by over enthusiastic botanists which has led to areas sloughing away from the rock underneath. If you are keen to see this plant, I can only advise that you make no attempt to reach the ledge as access is extremely dangerous and damaging to the protected plant, be happy to take photos from below the ledge on the main grass terrace.
Adenda June 2014; Over the winter and due to abnormal deposits of snow, part of the ledge has suffered a land-slip and removed many plants, some hanging by the roots and one plant is regrowing fairly low down. Please do not climb up to the ledge.
Nearby, in the gully that borders the overhanging crag, there grows the most wonderful specimens of Grass of Parnassus, Roseroot, Devil's-bit Scabious, Mossy Saxifrage, Hieraciums, possible Alpine Pennycress and the Alpine Gentian that I failed to find on the higher ledges even though I had checked grid references for it, needless to say I forgot to mark them on a map.
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| Cairn o' Claise dyke - pastel sketch on paper |
An old dry stane dyke traverses over the summit of Cairn o' Claise and defines the county boundary between Angus and Aberdeenshire. I find it rather beautiful as it dips up and down over the mountain ridge like a delicately coloured snake of grey, green and buff, reticulated with slanting cope stones and the rusty angle iron strainers that are hand drilled into the massive anchor stones every few metres.
The dyke fence ran for miles between estates and evidence of the old iron posts can be seen at the summit of Jock's Road. Imagination can only recreate an idea of what it would have been like to work on this dyke at such a height above sea level during the worst weather. The Victorian workers camped out to complete the job during spring until autumn and it must have been back breaking work to gather boulders from the surrounding hill-sides. I suspect the dyke fence was meant to keep sheep from wandering because it is too low to keep deer on one side.
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| Sketching today on Cairn o' Claise 1064m |
On the plateau moorland surrounding Glas Maol, where there are some intrusions of rock scree and it has been suggested that Dotterel currently nest here. Although breeding has been recorded in this area in the past, I find that the habitat for this does not seem right with too much grassy vegetation and not enough diversity in short, tundra like heath growth, that when combined with stony cover, provides a Dotterel with the perfect conditions for breeding and camouflage. In May 1989, Adam Watson recorded two hundred and eighty five Dotterel in this area; he also noted the deaths of two Dotterels that had flown into the ski-lift cables. Today there are no Ptarmigan showing on Cairn o' Claise where the boulder scree would provide perfect shelter for them and because these 'Munro' summits tend to be popular with walkers and their dogs near the Cairnwell ski centre, nature gets little chance to settle.
A young Mountain Hare scarpers from the boulder field as I descend into the summit's lee, away from the gale on top. Nestling uncomfortably into the sharp boulders, that remind me that I have no place here, I stop for a while to absorb some peace far from the madding crowd that has gathered on the windy side of the summit for some strange reason. My old anorak and breeks are covered in pastel chalk and I feel out of place with the fashion icons dressed in the latest gear who shout garishly in the wind about, well, themselves. The two-thirds size hare returns hoping for its peace out of the wind, but I have bagged its spot, and the hare stares at me for a moment in timorous confrontation before belting off at top speed down into the 'place of the grassy hollow' which is the Gaelic translation of this hill's name. I eventually follow the hare, after vacating my bum parking space, down into the grassy hollow and descend by the Glasallt burn into Caenlochan again.
Confusion always reigns about how to pronounce hill names 'in the Gaelic', but does it matter really? Gaelic place names are fairly literal in translation, the place of the grassy hollow or the slope of grey boulders or the loch of birds and their pronunciation usually bares little resemblance to the written name. Take for example Beinn a' Bhuird, its pronunciation is 'ben na voorsht' but I have always said 'ben na voord' and no-one has ever said that is wrong - ach, I'm happy to live with my ignorance and put up with that of other's.
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| Cicerbita alpina in Caenlochan |
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| Cicerbita alpina site |
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| Grass of Parnassus |
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| Alpine Pennycress |
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| Red Deer Stags hoofing it with fresh antlers |
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| Dry stane dyke on Cairn o' Claise, looking towards Glen Shee |
Notes;
All sketches and photos done on the day and are copyright.
Please be aware that it is illegal to disturb certain plants, nesting eagles or other raptors and you may do so inadvertently in your journeys into the highlands. I do not recommend searching for any of the species mentioned in this blog because this may cause undue disturbance to them. With my knowledge of the areas described in this blog I can locate and observe protected species at a respectful distance usually from about 1000 metres for short periods of time only.
Map of the area