I've finally found a way of sharing the route....
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc9/view.php?id=19252&da=y

Howdi Brian
You got a logon for that baby?

Rats. I thought that it would be public access. Didn't realise that there was a tiny little box to tick. Please try again

Great work Brian, sir. Appreciate that, thank-you

An update...the council have done some work clearing the forest of broom and gorse along the road from Mergie towards Stonehaven in order to improve visibility. Although it is an improvement, giving walkers somewhere to jump if a car flies round a bend, the road remains highly unsuitable for walkers as it is still a narrow single track road with tight blind bends and summits.

I've been warned about chemicals in the water due to the forestry work. I have a katadyn water filter, but this doesn't remove chemicals as far as I know. I will be in the forest too long to carry all the water I need. How do challengers usually treat their water in the forest?

Ulla,
The forestry work can make the water supply quite peaty in places, it isn't synthetic chemicals but rather the stuff that is used to make whisky so wonderful. Having said that it can be very overpowering in your coffee. A water filter should remove most of the peat. I wouldn't recommend using any water that was really cloudy though as even if your filter removes the solids, the peaty taste remains.

Something to consider though, and I guess this is relevant to all wild camping, is a controversy regarding the contamination of public drinking water supplies south of Glasgow as a result of construction of the giant Whitelee windfarm. Large amounts of organic material caused by peat disturbance ended up in the reservoir. The main issue was that the routine treatment of the water with chlorine resulted in nasty (carcinogenic) by-products caused by the reaction of chlorine and organic material including trihalomethanes. http://www.windsofjustice.org.uk/2014/08/169/

The obvious question to be asked is "does this also happen when peaty water is treated with chlorine based water sterilising tablets?"

Specifically, regarding your question, the major streams like the Bervie and Cowie tend to be fairly clear, but can be affected if there has been a lot of rainfall and peat disturbance. I was walking up the Bervie from Corsebald the other day and it was crystal clear.

Whereabouts are you thinking of camping?

If you plan on camping at the frequently used site at Cowie Bridge NO 76453 87384 take note that you are close to the confluence of the Cowie Water and the Finglennie Burn NO 76415 87293 which has a smaller and different catchment area to the Cowie. If the Cowie is peaty the smaller burn might be running clearer. As far as I know there isn't any logging work going on near the Finglennie. There was some going on but it finished last year. There is also a small local burn, Queel Burn entering the Cowie from the Southeast at NO 76513 87392, again with a totally different and smaller catchment area.

I'm not to up to date with the North side of the forest but I do know that there has been an awful lot of logging work going on around Burn of Sheeoch for a good while now. See my comments on this thread on 25th Feb. I recommend that anyone planning on going that way contact the landowners and check that access is open. It was still closed the last time I was in those parts.

I bow to your superior knowledge Brian, but I have to say Laura and I walked that route two years ago and and had no problems, a very pleasant stroll in fact :thinking_face:

Yea me too, Louise. I must've gone through the Fetteresso some dozen times with multiple variants. Never a problem with water or navigation. It's a lovely easy finish with only a couple of km track/minor road walk to the coast at the very end. Followed by ice-cream yum yum. No sweat.

Louise,
the logging around Burn of Sheeoch has been going on since last summer. Prior to that they were clearing the area closer to the Cryne Corse Road up to the TV mast.

I mention the peaty water because last May I met Darren Long who stopped for a brew on his way past. He told me that the water in the Cowie was cloudy. I know that it can be.

Logging is always a pain in forestry, but I meant to refer to the walk on exiting from Mergie and the road walk via Snob Cottage? We rather enjoyed the easy stroll, no traffic to speak of.

Well everyone on the TGOC is over 18 and able to make their own decisions Louise, but I wouldn't be happy walking along that road myself. I have neighbours round here who refuse point blank to drive along it, preferring to drive into Stonehaven and out along the Slug Road to get to Banchory etc.
The recent work on the thick wall of gorse and broom that lined both sides has improved things a bit, giving pedestrians somewhere to dive to when a car comes flying road a blind bend, but in my opinion it still isn't a good choice, especially since safe alternatives exist staying in the forest. If anyone really doesn't want to stay in the forest, I really recommend coming out onto the road on the South Side which despite being a busier road, is much safer for pedestrians and cyclists. They can also drop in on my place for a cuppa on the way past as well.

I wouldn't like to think of someone getting hurt walking along the Swanley to Mergie Road when I had not made them aware of the risk.

Which way are you going to dive?





Images from Google Streetview

Not doubting your superior local knowledge at all Brian.