After a good night in St Augustus, a reasonable breakfast in Morags Lodge we were set for the long trek up Glen Doe. There is a new path now heading out of Fort Augustus which leads walkers off the dangerous hairpin road along the much software aspects at the edge of Loch Ness before crossing the road and zig-zagging its way to link up with the construction path.

So far so good. It is a long haul up that path, but not different in many ways to the alternative route along General Wades Road. Both laborious but easily ignored when you have good company and endless banter to take your mind off the long uphill slog and the previous nights beer.

The last time I came up here a couple of years back, there was just me, the dam and some bitter wind. However now once you crest the highest point, there’s 12km of heavy duty wind farm construction. The track which used to be one vehicle wide, is now the width of a motorway. The land has been landscaped by bulldozers, rivers diverted and infrastructure installed which includes communications, helipads, concrete plant, repair sheds and countless portacabins. I lost count once I passed 80 wind turbines and all the various access roads to them. There must be closer to a 100. All of which made my mood darken substantially as we reached our goal at Chalybeate Spring.

Even here it wasn’t sacred and one of our party Mick had established this was to be the centre of another turbine zone. in the next phase So this time next year, this once quiet hidden little spot could be no more.

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