One of the dominating features of the winter landscape at this time of the year is the snow-capped hills. One that stands out from the others and can be seen from some parts of Inverness is Ben Wyvis. The very large snow beds are characteristic and are more extensive on the north facing slopes that generally fail to catch any winter sun there may be. There are very few animals or birds that can survive on the high tops and only the ptarmigan and mountain hare have really mastered this world mainly unseen by our eyes. Both rely on camouflage as their white winter coats camouflage them from any predators such as golden eagles. However, the hill, combined with the lesser peak of Little Wyvis, has had a chequered history both in the distant past and in the last few years.
Only a few years ago it was seriously considered as being another skiing resort with a railway to the top for ski runs. It was on the point of being started when a couple of comparatively mild winters changed peoples minds and the plans were dropped, presumably for the time being. That was the time when I had responsibilities for the Ben Wyvis National Nature Reserve and I never did quite work out how a skiing resort and an NNR would be in any way compatible. The Cairngorms manage this compatibility but that is a vast area to cope with the human intrusion compared with Ben Wyvis.
There is another past of Ben Wyvis that has long been forgotten and that was its role as an important route for the Drovers to bring their cattle. It was not always so, as the Drovers simply drove their cattle along the lower parts of the glens on the north side of Ben Wyvis through Garve and then on to the trysts, sometime called fairs, at Beauly and, latterly, Muir of Ord. It was the change in attitude of the owners of the ground around Garve, as after the long free haul over the passes leading down from the north times changed. The cattle would be rested up overnight at Drovers Stances and these were free until the landowners suddenly realised they could make money. So the owners at Garve started charging overnight rent which was uneconomical in the fragile financial climate of droving. So the Drovers took a different route and went up through the passes between Ben Wyvis and Little Wyvis.
The cattle, smaller than the current Highland cattle and mainly black, were assembled from all parts of the Highlands and Islands. The very long journey south, often through local trysts, came to a head in Falkirk and Crieff and then they would go even further right down to the famous Smithfield’s Market in London. There are two outstanding accounts of these historic journeys with one being a book and the other a display. The book is “The Drove Roads of Scotland” by A. R. B. Haldane published in 1952. There are plenty of second hand copies around but make sure the copy you get has the large map in the back. The second source is the Drovers Display in the Mart at Dingwall. This superb display is capped by the life size model outside of a Highland cow with a Drover and his faithful dog and is a must to see. When the drove was finished the Drovers let the dogs go and the dogs would retrace their steps and take food from people where they had stopped on the journey south. The dogs would end up with the Drovers where they had started.
Tags: Highland History