Carn nam Barran, Glen Strathfarrar & Ben Bhraggie, 27 April 2025

Strathfarrar: Pollcherian Bridge - Carn nam Barran (546m)  - Struy – Inchmore

A change of plan took the planned route from Torridon to Glen Strathfarrar due to a poor weather forecast.

Diana, May, Lukasz, Arthur and Martyn met at the carpark for Glen Strathfarrar and then teamed up to take a car up the Glen about 7km to Pollcherian Bridge. The route started across the River Farrar and made its way through Pine, Alder and Birch Forest out on to the open moorland above the Glen. The forest here is a good example of how a lot of Highland glens would have once looked.

Once on Open moorland the top of Carn nam Barran was reached with good views over Strathfarrar. The path then made its way towards Struy. On the way the remains of the lead mines were found.

The lead ore is found in veins traversing the Moine schists. They were apparently worked about the year 1818 by Thomas Alexander Fraser (afterwards 12th Lord Lovat) at the same time as his graphite mine in Strath Farrar; most of the work seems, however, to have been done by him between 1838 and 1845, when miners were brought from England and housed in cottages specially built for them in Struy village. In 1864 the Loch na Mèine workings were cleared and prospected, but since then no further work has been done. (An account of the Struy lead mines, Inverness-shire, and of wulfenite, harmotome, and other minerals which occur there. Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2018)

Some of the waste from the mine was quite heavy from the lead when picked up from the ground.

The route then took the team passed an old settlement and into the woods above Struy. The Iron Age Broch was, located. It is quite a ruin, covered in vegetation. However certain structures can still be seen.

The route then took the team through Struy, petting pigs on the way and to Inchmore and the subsequent retrieval of the car left up the Glen.

A good day out with excellent blether!

Taking part: Martyn, Diana,
May, Lukasz, Arthur

Words: Martyn;
Pictures: Arthur and Lukasz

Ben Bhraggie

Meet report to come.