Hydro-power, fairy hills and gunpowder: field trip to Loch Oude

Twelve members of the specialist Seil Natural History Group met at the north end of Loch Oude, in a small car park by the bridge for a field trip walk to Melfort.  The track started directly from the car park and led south through Raera Forest towards Melfort, a distance of about two and a half miles. There are good views of Loch Oude from the track and several burns at the side which run into the dam- and a bench at one of these points, good for a rest and quiet reflection.

Further on there were several small controlled dams which also feed the loch, which in turn feed the Power Station at Kilmelfort.  At one of these stops we found the Hard-shield Fern a new species addition, and a good find.

Amongst the Sitka Spruce and other conifers we found areas of European Larch (Larix decidua). The European Larch is a quick growing tree, capable of reaching 130ft(40m). Being deciduous it is often treated as a honorary broadleaf to provide diversity in conifer plantations.  These trees provided an opportunity to see some of the target forest birds we were hoping for, and through the calls we were fortunate to find three Common Crossbills, including a male and several Coal Tits.

The hill above the village of Melfort known as An Sithean (Hill of the Fairies) holds a cave of  archaeological interest. The Celts are thought to have believed in fairies and the cave and hill could have had mystical meaning. There are many other sites in Argyll with the same name indicating this could have been common practice.

The blasting operations of the Hydro Board in 1956 exposed a cave  halfway up the hill which was subsequently excavated by the University of Edinburgh’s Department of Archaeology. Several hundred flint and quartz artifacts were recovered as well as a few scraps of teeth and charcoal fragments which date back to the period approximately 5000 BC and represent the debris of a temporary seasonal occupation by a hunting or a gathering group. Unfortunately the blasting has covered the occupation debris largely at the cave entrance, immediately outside it where most of the activities would have taken place, i.e. butchering, cooking and eating, working of tools and equipment.

We stopped for our lunch at a picnic table, taking in the wonderful views down Loch Melfort. Once fed and watered we continued towards Melfort following the hydro pipe down the hill and eventually some steps to the bottom.  In summer this is an excellent location for the Scotch Argus butterfly.

Kilmelfort Hydro-electric Power Station was commissioned in 1956 and is now owned by Scottish and Southern Energy. It was built by the North of Scotland Hydro-electric Board to supply the communities of the Highlands. These plants were built in several ‘schemes’ of linked stations, each covering a catchment area whereby the same water can generate power several times as it descends, thus providing an early source of renewable energy.

Approaching Melfort we discovered this new lichen below Cladonia floerkeana with its red pycnidia. The podetia in this species are very distinctive and tall. They have been recorded as high as 60 mm although the norm is in the range 10 mm to 30 mm high, with a diameter of 1.5 mm. Podetia may be branched at the tips; branching is more frequent at the base near the small primary squamules (8mm long). Coarse squamules cover podetia. Apothecia form on the rim of the tip of the podetia; these are common and are light to dark brown in colour. Red pycnidia also form on the tips of the podetia.

We visited Melfort shop and discovered some interesting facts about the site prior to its present use as a time share village.  It used to be the Melfort Gunpowder Works, one of four in Argyll. (The others are at Furnace on Loch Fyne, Glen Lean at Sandbank and Milhouse/Kames near Tighnabruaich.) Melfort was an ideal location for the manufacture of gunpowder. It was secluded. It had a deep water pier for shipping materials in and gunpowder out. It had plentiful supplies of scrub oak for making charcoal which, with salt petre and sulphur, formed the essential ingredients of the ‘black powder’.

As was a common fate with gunpowder works, Melfort in 1867 suffered an explosion resulting in the total destruction of the works. The development of the more reliable dynamite was, in any case, already reducing the demand for gunpowder.

Now, some 120 years later and housed in the old buildings, the timeshare Melfort Club flourishes. The names of the cottages reflect their function within the framework of the old gunpowder village. The ruins and the lade along the banks of the River Oude along with certain remnants of the tramway which ran from the village to the pier at Fearnach Bay complete the picture.

Our return journey was back along the same track, but this did not prevent us from discovering new interest. Along the path which leads up steps to Fairy Hill, and in a sheltered position we discovered this Wild Strawberry, our first flowering plant of the year.  Back at the picnic bench we took another look west down Loch Melfort and took in the beautiful view for a second time.

Continuing our walk back we were still in search of two other target species for this conifer forest, Siskin and Goldcrest. However we were not to be disappointed as a flock of Siskin could be heard chattering as they moved through the trees, searching for food. We eventually had glimpses of them high in the Larches whilst two Goldcrest were also close by, given away by their thin piping calls, whilst they fed on small insects amongst the conifers.

Our final discovery was on a small Willow at the side of the loch where several lichen species were all providing easy photographic opportunities.  The first two (shown below) are Degelia plumbea (with its orangey red centre) and Degelia atlantica both indicative of Atlantic woodland.

A further two species were added Usnea cornuta and Leptogium cyanescens also further indicators of the unpolluted quality of the air here on the west coast of Scotland.

Returning to our cars we all felt this walk had been good value for money with not only interesting natural history but also the local history at Melfort.

Richard Wesley, Natural History Editor