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Hello,
Just wanted some advice from the locals - I'm planning some MTB rides in the Letterewe estate beginning of October and I've been told I could not be very welcome as it's during the dear stalking season. Is there a way to avoid any conflicts? Do they publish somewhere some no-go area? I believe they don't do the week end, but I would like to ride during the week as well.
Cheers.
Wouldn't worry about it too much tbh. I spent much of the grouse shooting season roaming about the hills with a dog and was entirely ignored and not peppered with shot.
This was over several years whilst working for wind farm companies - staying at a local hotel will give you a good idea of the lie of the land.
Check out this if you haven't already.
http://www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/Practical-guide/public/heading-for-the-scottish-hills
Slioch, Beinn Lair and Beinn Airigh Charr - Letterewe Estate. Stalking from last week in Aug to 20 Oct. No stalking on Saturdays or Sundays. The normal route up Slioch from Kinlochewe is always OK. If further information is needed, please phone 01445 760207 or e-mail barbaraletterewe@tesco.netA’Mhaighdean and Ruadh Stac Mor(Letterewe) - Upper eastern slopes, both summits and all land to west: Letterewe Estate. Stalking from last week in Aug to 20 Oct. No stalking on Saturdays or Sundays. If further information is needed, please phone 01445 760207 or e-mail barbaraletterewe@tesco.net
Beinn Tarsuinn, Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair, Sgurr Ban and Beinn a’Chlaidhemh - No stalking information provided, be prepared to follow reasonable local guidance.
Beinn a’Chaisgein Mor - All land west of Creag na Sgoinne, Creag-mheall Mor and Cadhachan Riabhach, including summit of Beinn a’Chaisgein Mor: Letterewe Estate. Stalking from last week in Aug to 20 Oct. No stalking on Saturdays or Sundays. If further information is needed, please
phone 01445 760207 or e-mail barbaraletterewe@tesco.net
Give them a ring
[url= http://www.letterewe-estate.com/contact ]http://www.letterewe-estate.com/contact[/url]
Very useful, thank you all!
In near 50 years of wandering the Scottish countryside I've once come across an active hunt. The guys gave me some advice on a wee detour and there was no drama.
Aye, my local trails are on a grouse moor, met the shoot for the first time earlier in the year.
Gamekeeper was cool, asked him if I could chainsaw some fallen trees in his woods, build what you want was his response. 
The rest of his party seemed a load of boorish drunken ****s mind.
myself and bunch of others descended off the Minigaig - tore down the landy track, round corner - shoot "in progress" - or rather on their lunch break, hampers served out of back of several Range Rovers, no problems at all..!
Stalking not generally a problem from a mountain biking perspective due to the nature of the routes bikes can take. General advice for walkers is to stick to ridges and established tracks, but avoid the corries where they do the shooting. I've met a few parties or small groups over the years - just talk to them and ask their advice on route if you do.
Slioch is the one hill I've experienced problems on. The gamekeeper gave us a dressing down in the boozer for trying to get ourselves shot while climbing to the top. We were wearing bright reds, yellows and blues!! Presumably he found it difficult to tell the difference between us and deer! And to be fair, the local deer did seem to have a leaning towards Hely Hanson waterproof kit.
This was 35 years ago and maybe he was a bit of an arse, but we may well have upset his stalking so it did teach us a lesson. Best to enquire first.
Gamies, baillifs and ghillies have always been at least halfway decent to me, despite me trekking all over the place with a half feral dog. Never encountered any when cycling though.
Just don't talk to them about rewilding or get them started on the subject of big cats roaming around if you value your time.
Big cats ? Do tell. We are supposed to have 1 (or indeed a family of them) here in Morayshire, in fact a mate in lossiemouth swears blind he's had a close encounter with one. Wouldn't surprise me given the sheer amount of forestry here.
Found some spoor on a remote landrover track near Strathdon, on the kind of a hill you wouldn't really climb for pleasure. The dog started behaving quite peculiarly, snarling and roaring at nothing obvious.
Not fox, dog, cat or human. Took a photo of it next to my shoe and asked the local water bailiff what he thought in the pub that night and was subjected to a good few hours of tales about mysterious cats "stravaiging aboot the hills". He was quite convincing.
Fair to say I looked over my shoulder a lot for the next few days...
Sounds a lot like my mate in Lossies encounter. His house is in the middle Fields bordering a substantial chunk of woodland.
Last walk of the day with the dog, pitch black. His collie goes absolutely ape shit, barking, snarling, straining to get off the lead. Mike shines his torch up the track & claims he saw a big black cat just sitting in the middle of the path 10/15 metres away, about the same size as his Collie. He shat himself. Thing just skunk off into the field & away.
Much like the Beast of Bennachie there's been stories of the Morayshire Black Cat for ages.
Well, it wouldn't be beyond the realms of belief. My wife reckons she saw a large black cat leaping over the wall of her parents' place in Deeside.
They had gun dogs who both shouted their mouths off.
Well this thread has become more interesting.
Cryptozoology is a good one. I think there are even stories of cats being killed/dying and positively identified, aren't there?
Hmm, big cats. One sighting in our village several years ago by someone I know personally. Out running at about 06.30 on an unmade path at the back of the local manse. There's a six foot stone perimeter wall round this bit and he said he was within a few metres of a very large black cat on top of the wall before he could stop. He said the fight or flight took over and he ran back the opposite way instinctively. He informed the local police and the primary school but there were no further sightings.
His overriding memory of this thing he told me was the size and structure of its tail, unmistakably big cat. He told me enough to convince me he's seen something out of the ordinary.
Me being me I need to see something like this personally before accepting that these things exist.
His overriding memory of this thing he told me was the size and structure of its tail, unmistakably big cat. He told me enough to convince me he's seen something out of the ordinary.
Why is it that this only comes to mind when I'm on a solo jaunt, at dusk, somewhere remote and I realise that I forgot to mention where I was going to the wife. There's no point in checking the phone because you _know_ there will be no coverage...
As an aside, my father in law took me shooting (clays) near Portlethen. I always thought I was kind of not bad and he was a regular shooter, so there wasn't any real competition.
One of the party was my wife's cousin, a keeper for a local estate. He just didn't miss. Not once. I was suitably impressed.
Didn't get the chance to ask him about big cats I'm afraid 😀
Daern,
In the woods above Forres there's Loch Romach. You drop down off the hill side into a huge natural gully. No phone signal, no ambient lighting from Forres or Elgin. Forest all around then behind the hill Open moorland all the way to Grantown on Spey.
Did a solo night ride last year. Decided to go down to the Loch. Literally stayed by the Loch for under a minute. Just totally shit myself. So dark, totally still, so quiet. Just had a feeling of hundreds of eyes watching me 😯 I got the hell outta there & back up the hill as fast as I possibly could. Never going up there solo again 😆
Me being me I need to see something like this personally before accepting that these things exist.
I dunno why it's so difficult to accept. We're not talking aliens or ghosts are we? There are plenty of these things in the country in captivity and they do escape. And there have been documented captures of bodies and live animals too. Not a mystery.
Romach is just a bit beyond bike distance for me to explore properly. But will note and probably not pick as preferred bivvi spot (I'm in Elgin @dahedd).
I've been up Monaughty - solo - of an evening, with poor-ish lights and caught a glimpse of something slink off the top fire road back into the trees.
Kcal.
It's cracking spot, plenty of evidence of camp fires so folk obviously camp there. Solo I might not, with others wouldn't be an issue.
Pop through to Forres some time & i'll show you a few trails.
Moley, any links? I agree that (X Files voice) they're out there but it does seem strange that they've not been caught on camera.
Moving home to Aberdeen very soon and looking forward to hitting all the old trails, hopefully without getting eaten.
@dahedd - very kind -- I'd like to know further round that way more. Done the river run and little bits by Romach but not big explore. I'm just rubbish at getting through - need to hook up with Reg & Matt and others but haven't done that, yet, either 🙂
Moley, any links? I agree that (X Files voice) they're out there but it does seem strange that they've not been caught on camera.
The last thing I'd do if I was close to one would be to fiddle around with my phone. And they are very good at hiding themselves at a distance. 😀
Weirdly, most of my post just disappeared! Shall try later.
it does seem strange that they've not been caught on camera.
Or shot. Enough people foxing/stalking that I, personally, don't believe it.
@Kcal
I'm pretty good mates with Matt. done a fair bit of riding with him. he's shown me heaps I didn't realise we're pretty much on my doorstep.
Not done the full River Run in years. Must do it again. Did a big rife out to Loch Dallas & Loch Noir on the Dava Moor with Matt returning to Forres via Romach. That was a tough one, real slow going.
Fair point IdleJon and the sightings that are on record tend to be of the OMG WTF was that kind.
The water bailiff I mentioned earlier was a pretty reliable, stoic kind of Aberdonian / outdoors fellow and well placed to see anything out there. Unfortunately hé was a wee bit in his cups and his rhetoric bordered on the poetic...
Enough people foxing/stalking that I, personally, don't believe it.
Interesting point, but it could be because cats are driven out of areas where there are lots of hunts? (Thinking out loud there!)
Ben Mee of Dartmoor Zoo wrote about seeing one standing on a dry stone wall not far from his zoo. The keepers with him identified it as a young male puma. They rushed back to the zoo expecting to find a missing cat but they were all present. The older keepers told them that they often find spoor outside the enclosures when the females are in heat - they attract the cats off the moor. Dartmoor Zoo is very close to the edge of Plymouth btw.
The people who see them and ID them accurately don't need to shout about it - what good would that do.
My brother (biology degree) saw a lynx in Rheola forest while he was riding. The same for another reliable friend in the same place.