Kincraig campaign ends in success with off-road safety on Speyside Way
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Years of death-defying walks on the Speyside Way by one Badenoch village have finally come to an end thanks to four years of campaigning, a supportive local laird and £80,000 of public funding.
A new footpath was needed to avoid a hairy stretch of public road which was making it unsafe for local users and visiting walkers who found themselves stranded after the Spey Bridge as they sought to link up again with the popular long distance footpath.
The new 500-metre route runs from the old bridge through the woods to the north of road – now known as the The Brae – and joins up again with the Speyside Way on the north side of the carriageway just past Alvie and Insh Church.
It cuts out the narrow, pathless road from the bridge to the church where mothers with prams had to walk in long grass just to keep away from the fast moving traffic – especially round a blind bend.
Deidre Falconer was Kincraig Community Council chair at the time and instigated the project when she was also elected to the board of the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA).
Working with Jamie Williamson, laird of Alvie Estate, owners of the required land, she managed to attract the support of a range of public bodies which became well aware of the problem.
There was no easy solution, since a simple path by The Brae as it passed by the kirk, was clearly not possible with no room available.
But as current project leader on the watchdog, Susan Libeks, celebrated on Tuesday: "With the support of the CNPA the path project was designed by Phil Thomson to get it through planning."
But there was one seemingly insurmountable barrier – the safety barrier which the law demanded on the public road immediately after the Spey crossing.
Ms Libeks said: "Unfortunately the roadside barrier design prevented planning permission from being granted for a further two years. We did, at least, get permission to build the footpath itself."
But that left mothers to lift prams over the barrier, and others to lift wheelchairs over in order to access any path which was created to make its way through the woodland safely far from the road.
Driven by project managers Ali McKnight and Cattie Anderson, a grant was received for the footpath from the IPA – Improving Public Access – via the Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate.
"Unfortunately the money had to be paid for the path build first before the grant would be paid," said Ms Libeks.
"Alvie Trust kindly stepped in and paid for the pathworks in stage one where the works were completed by the contractor Norman Campbell in December 2022.
"Norman also came back to do remedial works after the first flood in Spring 2023 – it was always going to be a challenge building the path on a flood plain."
As Mr Williamson said on Tuesday: "I like the flood warning signs which have been created but they're obviously going to need re-siting as they currently disappear under water..."
It was summer last year when planning was finally granted to allow the community council to reimburse Alvie Estate for the monies owed. The village watchdog was also able to claim the promised grant from the CNPA to finish the works.
John Addy designed the new barrier, Hugh Ross and the team at Ironside Farrar drew up the roads signage layout and path design to join the road in line with Highland Council guidelines.
Rob Simpson, of Highland Fencing and Barrier Contractors (HFBC), came up with the solution to the safety barrier problem.
At the official opening, Ms Libeks said: "HFBC did everything to bring the project to completion in December 2023.
"We want to thank Ali McKnight for project managing and driving everything forwards; Doug Edwards for the signage and benches; Craig Irvine and the Highland Council roads team for stepping in at the last minute to accept a late change of barrier design due to a lamppost being in the way!
"And we could not have done this without the CNPA's huge support."
