Work starts on extension to footpath at Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve
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Work is under way to extend an all-abilities trail in an East Sutherland beauty spot.
Construction work has begun on around 885 metres (0.5 miles) of track at Balblair Wood, part of Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve.
The driving force behind the project is former Golspie community councillor Iain Miller.
In 2017 he proposed to the then Golspie Community Council that an existing roadside cycle and footpath, which runs parallel to Ferry Road, be extended to link with a walkway in Balblair Wood. Planning permission was granted and funding worth £37,000 was awarded. The 500-metre long footpath was completed in 2018.
Mr Miller said: “In 2021, the new community council agreed that I should try to extend the existing path from the entrance to Balblair Wood out to the picnic and scenic area at Salmon Pond.
“Planning permission was granted and funding applications (£65,000) were successful, but because of land occupation issues and the inability to work in the bird nesting season, work has just begun and should be completed by March.”
“The aim of the project is to allow walkers and cyclists and also users of mobility scooters to travel safely from Golspie village out to and into the woods.”
Mr Miller has thanked funders including Gordonbush Wind Farm Benefit Fund, Beatrice Community Fund, Kilbraur Community Benefit Trust. NatureScot, East Sutherland and Edderton ward discretionary fund and Golspie Community Council. Support for the project has come from Highland Council footpaths officer Matt Dent and ward manager Phil Tomalin as well as former Sutherland Estates factor Peter Voy, Bell Ingramland agent Anastasia Young, Adam Rose of NatureScot and Waverley Engineering.
