Category Archives: History

Covid dreams 5: Mar Lodge in the 1970s

Posted on April 25, 2020 by cairngormwanderer

This takes me back to my childhood and early teenage years, to the late ’60s and early ’70s and the heydays of the public bar at Mar Lodge. With a free campsite a couple of miles up the road, Saturday … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged | 14 Comments

Bridging the Dee at Corrour

Posted on July 8, 2018 by cairngormwanderer

Some time ago I wrote of the bridge-building activity in 1959, when several footbridges were constructed to replace existing structures past their best. Malcolm Douglas, the first Nature Conservancy Council warden on the Mar side of the Cairngorms, told how … Continue reading →

Posted in History, People | 5 Comments

Luibeg Bridge 1 and 2: the Bill Ewen photos

Posted on July 1, 2018 by cairngormwanderer

I’ve written before about the life and times of the Luibeg Bridge but have just had made available some great photos of its construction, destruction and reconstruction. (Pictures come courtesy of Alasdair Ewen, who sent them from his grandfather Bill … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Historic Corrour Bothy images

Posted on June 30, 2018 by cairngormwanderer

Some images from the original Corrour Bothy work party appeared recently on Facebook, courtesy of Alasdair Ewan, grandson of Bill Ewen, who took them in 1950, when the Cairngorm Club rescued the building from collapse. I wrote about Bill Ewen … Continue reading →

Posted in Bothies, History, People | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Ashie Brebner: Secret Howff builder, 1935-2018

Posted on April 13, 2018 by cairngormwanderer

Sad news came this week that Allister ‘Ashie’ Brebner, the last surviving member of the group who built the legendary ‘Secret Howff’ in the Cairngorms, has died. Ashie had only recently written an excellent memoir of his exploits in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bothies, History, People | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Book review: Beyond the Secret Howff, by Ashie Brebner

Posted on December 9, 2017 by cairngormwanderer

The Secret Howff is such a part of Cairngorm lore that it’s difficult to remember that until relatively recently so few people knew anything about it other than it existed… somewhere. Now Ashie Brebner, the last remaining member of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bothies, History, People, skiing | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Going beyond the Secret Howff

Posted on November 2, 2017 by cairngormwanderer

Anyone who has been to the Secret Howff, and many who have just heard of it, will know the name Ashie Brebner. The last remaining builder of the legendary howff, Ashie has finally decided to tell his story. Published by … Continue reading →

Posted in History, News, People | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Crystals on show at Braemar Castle

Posted on August 10, 2016 by cairngormwanderer

If you’ve ever wondered what a Cairngorm crystal looks like in the flesh – so to speak – there’s a display of the raw and finished stones at Braemar Castle this season. Roy Starkey, author of  Crystal Mountains (reviewed here) … Continue reading →

Posted in History, News | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Jean’s Hut – a lost Cairngorm bothy

Posted on May 21, 2016 by cairngormwanderer

Of all the ‘lost’ bothies of the Cairngorms,  Jean’s Hut seems one of  the one most brought up in folk’s recollections. Not one I was ever at myself, although it didn’t finally disappear until the ’80s, but there are some … Continue reading →

Posted in Bothies, History | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

Plans announced for Derry Lodge development

Posted on May 17, 2016 by cairngormwanderer

(Since this post was first written, a planning application for the development has been lodged with Aberdeenshire Council. The application can be seen in full here. According to Murray Hamilton, Director of Planning and Rural Development at the Cairngorms National Park … Continue reading →

Posted in History, News | Tagged , | 25 Comments