Finding time for a walk!

Today we walked with Calderglen Ramblers on an 8.3 circular route around some of the wooded areas surrounding Blair Atholl and the Falls of Bruar.

The Falls of Bruar are a series of waterfalls on the Bruar Water in Scotland, about 8 miles from Pitlochry, Perth and Kinross. They have been a tourist attraction since the 18th century and were immortalized in a poem by Robert Burns, who although taken with the falls themselves, was unimpressed by the lack of vegetation. After his visit in 1787, he wrote the poem, The Humble Petition of Bruar Water to the Noble Duke of Atholl. It entreated John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl, the owner of the land, to plant some trees and bushes around the falls:

“ Would then my noble master please
To grant my highest wishes,
He'll shade my banks wi' tow'ring trees,
And bonnie spreading bushes.

Almost ten years later, after Burn's death in 1796, Murray began an ambitious scheme of planting that would eventually include 120,000 Larch and Scots Pine. The Duke was of the opinion that the planting should be both pleasing to the eye and profitable. He was eventually to become known as "Planter John", planting over 15 million trees throughout his estates during his lifetime.

Back to the blip - this was a group of young people who are part of the Blair Atholl Jamborette, Scottish Scouting's premier international event which brings together over 1,000 Explorer Scouts and Leaders from all over the world for a 10 day camp in a picturesque corner of highland Perthshire.

Every 2 years since 1946 the tranquil grounds of Blair Castle have been transformed with participants from all over the world from as far afield as Japan, Zambia and Canada. This year, also taking part are youngsters from far-flung countries including South Africa, Hong Kong and the USA, coming together to camp and share in fun, friendship, and a massive range of adventurous activities and challenges - as can be seen here, climbing the walls of one of the waterfalls.