Invading clan territory
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THEY gather from all over the world in Badenoch every year to celebrate their clan link, to dance, sing and exchange stories. The Macphersons have a strong association with this area, maintained through the clan association and a museum in Newtonmore.
My circular bike ride starting in the town took me through the heart of their territory and past the huge cairn which stands as a symbol of the clan’s worldwide spread.
I started from the free car park in the town’s Glen Road and turned right along the main street to the point where the road splits, passing the clan museum. I stayed right, taking the A86 towards Laggan. It passes under the looming bulk of Creag Dubh with its lovely wooded lower slopes, and while it may only rank as a Graham, a traverse of the hill gives a great day out and an opportunity for some easy scrambling.
Bowling along the relatively flat road, I was taking the opportunity to try out clipless pedals for the first time. I’d been given a pair of shoes to test by the friendly folk at Stuarts Cycles in Forres (read the review in our Active Outdoors spring magazine, out soon). That meant ditching my toe clips for cleat pedals and this was my first proper outing using them after practising to make sure I didn’t come a cropper!
All was going well and I was enjoying the scenery on a bitterly cold day that had me well wrapped against the elements.
Given the prominence of Creag Dubh in Macpherson territory, it’s perhaps not surprising that their war cry is derived from its name.
On a bend in the road at Cluny Castle I stopped to take a look at the Macpherson burial ground, where prominent clan members were laid to rest. The clan graves take pride of place inside an enclosed wall and as a setting in which to be buried it takes some beating.
A farmer working sheep with a dog provided some interest as I rode on towards Laggan and the sharp left-hander which takes the main road across the Spey. Creag Meagaidh stood out like a white dome to the west.
There was some climbing to do now after I took the next turning left on to the A889 Dalwhinnie road, beginning my return to Newtonmore.
After two kilometres a minor road branches left at Catlodge, with a phone box as a convenient marker.
Signed Glentruim, this is perhaps the best section of the ride with little traffic to worry about, though I hadn’t seen much even on the A roads.
The Glentruim road has wonderful views across to Creag Dubh, which looks conical in shape and even more impressive from this angle.
It’s on this road that the Macpherson cairn is passed, in an enclosure near Mains of Glentruim. The cairn was constructed using stones provided by clan members worldwide and the vista down to Laggan and over to Creag Dubh is stunning. The metal gates to the cairn enclosure bear the symbol of a wildcat encircled by a belt and the motto: "Touch not the cat but a glove".
The glove of the wildcat is the soft, under part of the paw, and when assuming a war-like attitude, the paw is spread or ungloved, revealing the claws. The motto is a warning to those who would be so imprudent as to engage in battle when the claw of the wildcat, or Macpherson warriors, is ungloved. Don’t mess with us, is the subtext!
After checking out the indicator disc in the enclosure, identifying what can be seen, I saddled up for the last part of the ride, taking the old A9 through Ralia services and joining the B9150, crossing the Spey again and back to Newtonmore.
