Nessie News - Day 4

Welcome to Darnaway West, Thursday 6th August

Competitors at the Scottish 6 Days must follow the official direction signs in from the north of Darnaway. The entrance via Redstone on clearly signposted Private Roads is Out of Bounds. Do not rely on your SatNav if travelling from the south – read a map and follow routes around to Forres or Nairn.

PDF download of Nessie News for Day 4

Last edited: 04th Aug

Information for Day 4

Distances between locations

Starts Blue/Green Starts approx 500m from Race Arena, Red/White approx 750m. Common route for initial 400m. Generally across fields, although last section to Red/White is in forest so likely to be ok for all-terrain buggies only. There are pheasant pens near the start which will be marked on the ground with signs and tape. Please help the Darnaway Estate by keeping well away.

Map DOLM and Stirling Surveys 2015.

Terrain Complex glacial moraine with a mix of deciduous and coniferous tree cover, plus some rough open areas. Predominantly clean open forest, but with some slower and low visibility areas.

Safety Information The public road through the middle of the area will be closed to traffic during the event and should be crossed with care. Other roads at the southern edge of the area are overprinted XXX and are strictly Out Of Bounds (OOB). Junior competitors may pass by a lochan on their courses.

String course Access to the String course will be buggy friendly, but some of the course itself is not and a shortcut will be available. No point on the String course will be more than 20m from a path. A large grassy area at the String registration provides good views of the final control and run in. Thanks to NFU Mutual and to Walkers for today’s string prizes

Special Info In some parts of the forest there are a number of archery targets which are not mapped and should be ignored. There are also a variety of plastic tapes hanging in trees which should also be ignored. Also see note above about pheasant pens at the start.

Acknowledgements

Thanks again to the Earl and Countess of Moray for allowing us to use their working Darnaway Forest, and of course to Ben Clinch, Estate Woodlands Manager, for all his team’s help in moving fallen trees, cutting grass, and laying hard-core.

Thanks to our hardy traders who have already been very helpful this week especially O-Nosh who helped pull their fellow traders around the muddy field in Strathfarrar . And Stovie Castle who saved the day at the O-Fest by allowing the Moray Firth Partnership and Smoothie Bike Company to use their kitchen.

Day 4

Information for Day 5 : Glen Affric South

IV4 7LY

Day 5 Bus drop off and pick up is near starts: 2.2km from Arena but only 400m from starts.

From Inverness follow A82 14 miles alongside Loch Ness to Drumnadrochit. Turn R on A831 12 miles to Cannich. Follow minor road and tracks (O signs) 5 miles to Tomich and Wester Knockfin. Single track road. Please let the locals through at the passing spots.

PARKING CHANGES DUE TO HEAVY RAIN

Parking Main car park is adjacent to Arena. But starts are 3km away mostly easy walking across fields and tracks. Overflow car parking, campervans and cars with only 1 occupant will be parked in the overflow car park on the south side of the river. This is 400m from the starts and just over 2 km from the Arena. There will be toilets in this car park and near the start. Please obey the many marshals. 4 x 4 vehicles will be parked on the south side of the river on gently sloping, very solid ground, just across the river and 200m from the Arena. This will be adjacent to the route to the start. Toilets are in the Arena.

If our car parks are full we will have to park any remaining vehicles in Tomich, 3km from the Arena and 1.5 km from the start.

Day 5

About Darnaway

Most of the woodlands are coniferous being mainly Scots Pine, Sitka Spruce and Douglas Fir. These are grown for the construction, fencing and board markets. The logs are mainly processed in Nairn, Dalcross, Mosstodloch and Falkirk. Although the majority of the woodlands are coniferous, there is a significant part of Darnaway Forest in Moray which is largely Oak and Beech. Darnaway Forest, which is the single largest area of woodland on the estates, has been actively managed for timber production for 250 years which helps to explain its varied age structure, attractive appearance and biodiversity. Part of Darnaway has been forest for at least a thousand years and was formerly a royal hunting forest. The oldest tree in the forest is estimated to be approximately 750 years old.

All the woodlands are certified under the UK Woodland Assurance Scheme to ensure sustainable management. Parts of the woodlands are SSSIs and approximately 1700 ha of Darnaway forest is a Special Protection area for Capercailzie emphasising the important balance between commercial production and habitat management.

The felling and transport of Darnaway oaks to Leith was a regular and systematic process, possibly for the construction of the Kings ships; other possible destinations were for the roofs of the great halls of Edinburgh and Stirling Castles.

There is unsupported evidence of oak timber from Darnaway being used in the roofing of St Magnus Cathedral in Orkney and also Spynie Palace in Moray.

However, it is the great Randolph Hall of Darnaway Castle which has recently been the subject of very detailed study carried out by the Royal Commission for the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, while Mike Baillie of the Palaeoecology Centre, The Queens University Belfast, was invited by Moray Estates to carry out a dendrochronological analysis. This analysis of the oak timber shows that the trees used in the roof were felled after the 1387 growing season.

To the south of the castle, where the River Findhorn rushes through a gorge, Randolph's Leap commemorates the sort of long-jumping usually associated with Rob Roy MacGregor. It was probably not attempted by Earl Randolph, but by his quarry, Alastair Comyn of nearby Dunphail. Darnaway Estate has a visitor centre and acres of hardwood forests.

The son of the ill fated Bonny Earl, the 3rd Earl, was Lord Lieutenant in the North during the reign of James VI, the 5th was Secretary of State for Scotland before being deposed in the “Glorious Revolution”. The 6th and 7th were Jacobite sympathisers and the 9th is said to have planted 13 million trees over his lifetime.

The 10th Earl created the Moray estate in Edinburgh’s New Town centred on Moray Place and Ainslie Place. The 18th was a Royal Flying Corps fighter ace in the First World War and his younger brother, James Stuart, was in Churchill’s War Cabinet and was Secretary of State for Scotland in the 1950s.

The 20th Earl, whose father ranched cattle south of the Kalahari desert in Botswana and who conceived and founded the New Town of Dalgety Bay in Fife passed away in 2011 and is succeeded by his son, formerly Lord Doune, as the 21st Earl of Moray. John, Earl of Moray lives with his family here at Darnaway Castle.

Things to Do East of Inverness

Congratulations and Celebrations

Happy 8th Birthday to Lily Purchase (QO). Good luck on the white course today!

Happy 55th Birthday to Jenny Beasant (Dee).

Happy 9th Birthday to Cecily Craig of MAROC, she is competing alongside her grandparents Peter and Marjorie Craig.

It's Rachel Collins of DFOK 22nd birthday.

Thursday's Social Events

6 Days Film Night Tonight! A night to relax watching Scottish themed films at Eden Court La Scala Cinema:

5.30pm ‘Brave’ (PG) , Disney’s fabulous animation about a feisty Scottish Princess.

7.30pm ‘What We Did on our Holiday’ (12). Quirky comedy from David Tennant, Rosamund Pike, Billy Connolly and some great kids – gorgeous Highland setting.

Tickets for each film £5 /2 (18 and under) at Information Tent or on the door.