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Re: Drinking Water

Hi Graham, I've camped further up the burn from where you intend and used the water from the burn for cooking and drinking. I never thought about the water being polluted until someone mentioned it some time back. I boil the water anyway, and for the next morning's drinking water I use the water I boiled the evening before.

I'm sure I've been lucky more than clever, but I've never had any effects from water around there. I plan to be that way this year and will take the same approach. Others may be a bit more prescriptive.

I should have said that I avoided the Feteresso last May because it had been particularly dry.

Re: Drinking Water

Graham, if you camp at the bridge over the Cowie you are at the confluence of three different watercourses, the Cowie itself, the Burn of Finglennie and the Queel burn. Normally the water under the bridge is crystal clear, just ask my dog who loves rearranging rocks in the stream bed.

There have been reports in the past of the water in the Cowie being turgid due to heavy rainfall washing peat into the river after recent logging operations. As all three streams flow from different areas of the forest I think that you would be very unlucky to find all three affected in the same way unless there has been days of monsoon rainfall which is unlikely the last week in May and if that was the case the Dye would also be affected.


I certainly would advise against carting water all the way across the forest, send me a mail and I'll give you my phone number, I live on the edge of the forest close to the Quithel gate and I could bring drinking water to you.

You don't mention which direction you plan on heading after the bridge. If you plan on heading towards Mergie, there are camping opportunities all the way along the Cowie towards the edge of the forest, so if you found yourself wanting to go a bit further you would be OK, but if you planned on using the southern route, heading past Quithel, the supply of drinking water and good camping spots along that route is limited to a few, well separated specific locations.

Again if you need advice contact me.


Re: Drinking Water

Brian & Gordon,

Thanks for the advice - reassuring!

Brian,

I plan to go south from the campsite but rather than leaving the forest to Quithel, turn left at the trail junction at 773857, then after 500m right onto the trail that heads due East, staying inside the forest to the exit below Cheyne Hill at 830873.

Then via Blairs, Kirktown of Feteresso and the outskirts of StoneHaven to Dunnottar Castle - I think this may be a route that you described in another thread?

I think that minimises road walking.

Does that sound like a workable route?

Re: Drinking Water

Graham,
I've done that route a few years ago and it worked fine. I found the Cowie Water undrinkable with sewage fungus that year and ended up coming out of the forest and chapping on doors to get some drinking water. The other alternative is to carry a small water filter.

Re: Drinking Water

Graham, yep that route still works and is straight forward. You don't have to go as far as 830873 though. There is a short cut leaving the logging road at NO 82404 86810

You can also avoid some road walking by taking a track from NO 84105 86111 to NO 85352 85784
You can get to the castle either by crossing the A90 near the garden centre (with café) then take a quick right down to the bus depot where you go right following a small road under the railway bridge. You can then walk around the outskirts towards Dunnottar Woods which you can walk through towards the castle or alternatively, before the vet surgery, kick off towards Kirkton of Fetteresso and onwards towards Touks where you can cross under the A90 and follow the coast road towards the castle.

Download my Fetteresso route at https://www.keepandshare.com/doc9/20779/fetteresso-route-pdf-515k?da=y


Piccies at https://www.keepandshare.com/doc9/19688/fetteresso-route-pictures-pdf-671k?da=y

The Cowie, Finglennie and Queel all have their source within the forest and well away from any habitation,or even farmland, there shouldn't be any risk of sewage in the water at all.

Re: Drinking Water

Although it has been a few years since I passed through the forest I distinctly remember seeing some very nasty looking brown sludge along the banks of some watercourses and a considerable amount of oil laying in puddles and slower burns. In lower elevation areas and agricultural areas I always boil water and only take it from fast flowing sources, so far I've been lucky. If you can't filter it or boil it I'd say don't use it.

Re: Drinking Water

As I say, the Cowie and the Finglennie both normally run crystal clear. I know that there were a fair number of people camped up there last year, did anyone have any problems? I can only assume that either the oily film and brown scum were simply the result of peat disturbance or was the period you are talking about during the windfarm construction? There is absolutely nothing up there that could produce sewage pollution except a few deer and the occasional horse rider.

Apart from the areas where logging is going on, and trucks bringing logs out of the forest, the only vehicles that go into the forest are workers at the elec. substation at Trusta, way over to the East, and the FC warden who patrols in his little van.

Because the forest has become very mature and a huge demand for wood pulp caused by a ridiculous government energy policy that assumes burning wood pulp doesn't create CO2, there is more and more logging going on in the forest these days. The areas where logging is happening does tend to create a lot of peat runoff and muddy roads.

As I say, if there is an issue, I can always cache some drinking water up there.

Talking of caches, if anyone is staying in the area and into geocaching, I have two sets of caches up there, the Cryne Corse Drover's Trail caches and the Finglennie Fungus Fun caches. One of which is very close to the bridge over the Cowie and another in the trees at Lady's Ley just up the hill along the road south from the bridge. Lady's Ley is also a good sheltered camping area under a big old beech tree, but which needs you to bring water from the river at the bridge.

Re: Drinking Water

i went through heathery Haugh in the Feteresso a few years ago & found a lovely camp & nice stream/burn. then looked to my right & there was a dead lamb in the water. took water above, no problems.

another time I took water from a burn elsewhere & drank it to find a rotting fully grown stag in the water, I tried to pull it out but its flesh fell away in my hands ... still no tummy upset :tired_face:

Re: Drinking Water

I remember it well Lilo....it was too ****ed heavy to shift, even for a big strong lad like you!

Re: Drinking Water

Thanks guys for the 'reassurance' - reminds me of a story Hamish Brown tells (in 'Hamish's Mountain Walk' I think) of a conversation between students on the hill. One is admonishing another not to drink from streams because there may be a dead sheep in the water upstream which will lead him to catch liver flukes - which is what old shepherds die of. The one being admonished thinks for a moment and replies 'as long as they're old shepherds, I'll risk it!'

I've never filtered or sterilised water on the hill - I guess we all take precautions or not as we see it (and I may already be older than many old shepherds!).

Hopefully I'll be in a fit condition:
a) to walk through the Fetteresso Forest (last year I only got halfway on my first challenge)
b) drink the water and live to tell the story
c) regale other challengers with my own horror stories in due course.

Re: Drinking Water

I think you've got what it takes Graham. Perhaps see you somewhere in the Fetteresso, taking our own risks and doing it our own way!! Good luck :slightly_smiling_face: