Popular section of Newtonmore Wildcat Trail washed away by floodwaters
A popular section of the Wildcat Trail in Newtonmore has had to be closed on safety grounds after being washed away by floods.
The Calder Path part of the orbital path is now under a stream of water.
The Newtonmore Community Woodland and Development Trust (NCWDT) has said that repairs are to be carried out but the route will remained closed in the vicinity until then.
Trust chairman Eric Dodd said: “This is a very popular section of the trail for locals and tourists as it offers magnificent views of the Calder river flowing through the gorge along with a natural native woodland.
“The terrible weather over the last two weeks has caused the drain system to completely fail and a significant amount of soil washed down the embankment causing further damaged to that caused in December 2023.
“What is left of the path is under a stream of water and soil.”
He said that the trust has applied ‘considerable pressure’ to the trust since the partial collapse of the embankment last winter which resulted in the council taking responsibility and agreeing to fully repair the drain system.
Mr Dodd said: “It is now labelled as a must do project by the council.
We are pleased that this long standing issue is to be resolved though saddened that this temporary closure is now necessary.
“A specialist contractor has already been appointed to undertake works.
“Before this weekend’s major collapse, the contractor had advised that further slippage was likely and that closure was recommended for safety reasons until the work was completed.
“Ironically, before the council took responsibility, the trust had already agreed its own solution to install a bridge over the affected section at a cost of £32,000 with the bridge already being manufactured.
“However, the contractors have advised that the works approved by the local authority will avoid the need for a bridge.”
Mr Dodd said the trust was keep the matter under review and members had already provisionally spoken about relocating the bridge elsewhere on the Wildcat Trail.
He added: “The trust will now establish the timetable for these permanent repairs and will keep everyone advised. In the meantime we are requesting that people obey the path closure signs.”
The affected section forms part of the Creag Dhu Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Find out more about the wildcat trail by clicking here.
