Monday, 4 December 2023

Coire Mhic Nobby-uil


One of Gail and my favourite Torridon walks is the low level route along Coire Mhic Nobuil, between the stark, precipitous peaks of Liathach, Beinn Dearg's forbidding buttresses and the somewhat gentler curves of Beinn Alligin. The start point is only about two miles from the cottage, and within just a couple of minutes of leaving the car park you are striding (or trotting) through scenery of awe-inspiring grandeur, as close to a pristine wilderness as anywhere you'll find on our crowded island.

A narrow, stony path up leads you up the glen, alongside the trail a crystal clear mountain stream cascades over the ancient Torridonian rocks, and if you're lucky you might spot a golden eagle soaring above. Us pups can roam free - no farm livestock for us to worry, but the occasional excitement of a red deer to chase!

The land is owned by the National Trust for Scotland so one would assume it to be safe from any unwelcome developments.

Not so!

How horrid to learn of a plan to disfigure this precious landscape by installing a 25 m tall telecommunications mast right in its heart.The proposed mast would be highly visible to the many hikers (and of course their dogs) who treasure the area for its unspoilt character, but it would do nothing to enhance mobile connectivity for local communities or businesses. To access the mast for maintenance, the path would need to be widened to allow vehicles in, and the whole experience of venturing into Coire Mhic Nobuil would be quite altered, and not for the better.

I am pleased to report that Gail has formally objected to the mast proposal and will be attending a public meeting in the Torridon Community Centre, organised by the National Trust for Scotland on Monday evening. 

I do really hope this eyesore is never built.

Oh and did I just spot a vole?

14 comments:

  1. oh no! it's sad what we sometimes do....

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  2. Hari Om
    Well Nobby, all power to the people in their protest, I say!!! We need these wilderness places where time means naught to remind us life doesn't consist of technology...was there a vole? Hugs and wags YAM-aunty xxx

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  3. I hope the plan to despoil such a beautiful area is firmly scotched.

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  4. We hope the Torridon peeps put a kibash on anything that would ruin this beautiful property!

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  5. so sorry to hear this, the path pulls me into it just looking at the photo. hope Gail and others can stop this mast, but have my doubts. people in charge only see the money not what we see.

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  6. Those are fabulous photos Nobby - what a wonderful place for a walk.
    Sadly there are people who don't care about such beauty and tranquillity and are quite happy to spoil it for the sake of so-called progress. We hope that the whole scheme is thrown out and forgotten.
    Love,
    Paca xx

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  7. Nobby and Gail what a breathtaking walk you have. I truly hope this planned
    ginormous pole is not planted there. Everything crossed the citizens of Torridon
    have a very loud voice in this decision
    Hugs Cecilia

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  8. What a beautiful place. It sure would be a shame to ruin it for a tower that won't make cell service any better. What's the point?

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  9. Humans.....sometime you have to wonder just what they're thinking. We are glad to hear Gail is going to actively protest...we can't imagine spoiling such beautiful views!!
    xoxo,
    Rosy & Sunny

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  10. You take the most excitinig, and informative walks.

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  11. I might not have any 'interest' as far as local authority is concerned, but where do I sign up to join the protest? Cellphones are great, and I share a view that rural folk need even more access to internet in some ways than city folk do, but if locals can think of a more sensible (and less destructive) way to achieve that connection then I wholeheartedly support them. (Just think of the ridiculous amounts of money proposed to be spent putting a tunnel under the countryside near Stonehenge (which after all is a human structure and blight on the countryside if you think about it) so that the view across that bit of England is not despoiled by a road....) Surely even a satellite link and a discreet dish somewhere with local connections would be less costly and easier to maintain over the long run than an ugly track up a mountain to a mast (and generator) that is exposed to all the elements.

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    Replies
    1. To protest, you can send an email to: eplanning@highland.gov.uk, referencing application number 23/04138/FUL or submit a comment on the Highland Council website: https://wam.highland.gov.uk/wam/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=S057RWIHJZZ00

      Ignore the stated deadline, we learned at the meeting last night that it's not too late. You'll see there are plenty of well argued objections already submitted.

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  12. Wow, a national trust area being blighted by the peeps that want to preserve the land in unspoiled state?? That is ridiculous not to mention contrary.

    If I could, I would sign away!

    Nobby, you bark em good to tell them what you and your Gail think.

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  13. I so hope the protest will be successful. Such pristine beauty should not be threatened with disfigurement.

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