The hill tracks of Galloway and the harvest of the sea

From a distance it looks like the hill tracks of Galloway have a dusting of snow.


But as you walk or ride on the tracks, the crunch of this white covering is like no snow.


It is composed of tons of scallop shells which are a by product of the Kirkcudbright scallop fishing industry. There is no more space to dump them at the back of local farmers' fields, so they are now brought up here and dumped on the hill tracks. As the shells break down, the calcium carbonate might do something to reduce the effects of acid rain which has damaged the Galloway hill lochs.

Seeing the sheer number of scallop shells scattered on these hills, you realize just how big the scallop industry is. I know the Irish Sea is a big place but I do hope this proves to be a sustainable fishery.

13/04/2008


The following is an extract from SEPA View, issue 17 Autumn 2003 the magazine of the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.

Evaluate use of waste scallop shells as road dressing to improve acidity in watercourses

Manager: Stuart Coy

Of 500km of fishless waters in Scotland, Galloway has 400km. Much of this relates to the extensive forest coverage in the area, which exacerbates acid rain. The trees filter out the acid and concentrate it, so when it rains the acidified water runs into the nearby watercourses. In many countries, lime has been successfully used to counteract acidity either by direct addition to water or application over the catchment land. However, this is an expensive and perhaps unsustainable procedure. As scallop shells are 95 per cent limestone in composition and the country’s largest processor of waste scallop shells, West Coast Sea Products, is situated in Galloway, an action plan was established to determine whether the shells could be used as a viable means of reducing levels of acidity in local watercourses. As waste, the shells must be disposed of in a manner that conforms with the exemptions laid out in the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 which permits them to be used in road construction. Two methods are currently being employed. In the first, clean, crushed shells are incorporated into the sub-base aggregates, effectively burying them. The second, more appropriate use, is as a road surface dressing. In theory, the passage of vehicles will speed up the release of calcium.

SEPA Galloway team leader, Stuart Coy said: “This experimental use of shells is still very new to Galloway and the logistics of getting them from the factory to the forest in an acceptable condition are continuing to develop. If it can be made to work then it seems there will be benefits all round. “Should there be a reduction in the quarried aggregate required for road construction, the use of the shells in this way means that they will not be going to licensed landfill which would have cost around £100,000 for disposal. Ultimately, much-needed calcium will be released into acidified surface waters.”

The Merrick and the Galloway hills.

A mountain bike is a great way to get round the Galloway Hills in SW Scotland. The Merrick is the highest hill on the Scottish mainland south of Ben Lomond. Its summit is still iced in the last of the winter snows.


Starting from the car park at the Bruce's stone above Loch Trool, we covered 28km and 900 metres of ascent and decent.

13/04/2008

Wreck of the Schooner Monreith

There are no harbours accessible at all states of the tide on the whole stretch of the Scottish Solway coast from Gretna in the East to the Mull of Galloway in the west. Following the many indentations of the coast, this is a distance of over 270km. Danger to ships is confounded by the large tidal range of nearly 10m at springs and the extensive sand and mud banks which are exposed at low tide. The whole coast is exposed to southerly winds and swells and if ships were caught out by a storm at low tide they had to try and find shelter at the entrances to the firths. Only when the tide was high could they make their way up the river channels to the shelter of the wharves in such towns as Kirkcudbright.


On the 12th November 1900, the two masted sailing schooner Monreith, from the Galloway port of Wigton, was carrying a load of granite kerb stones from Newcastle in County Down, Northern Ireland to Silloth in England. A storm blew up and she attempted to take shelter in the mouth of Kirkudbright Bay (behind Little Ross Island, the island with the lighthouse on the horizon.) The bay was not yet deep enough and grounded and was driven onto the sand banks of Goat Well Bay where her timbers were pounded by the surf until she sank. Her crew were able to launch a boat in her lee and made their way safely ashore just as the Kirkcudbright lifeboat arrived. Monreith's sturdy timbers can still be seen reflecting in the wet sands at low tide.

22/03/2008


If you launch or land at Dhoon Bay near high water, you will miss this part of the Bay's history.

Goat Well Bay, Nun Mill Bay and Dhoon Bay are pretty much synonymous. Although not used on the map, Dhoon Bay is the current local name.

29/09/2007

Kircudbright slipway

Downstream of the Kirkcudbright fishing fleet moorings, there is a small slipway which gives access to the tidal River Dee. It is very near the main public car park in Kirkcudbright and if you launch here shortly before high tide, you can explore the upper tidal reaches of the Dee to Tongland. You can then follow the ebb out to Dhoon shore and pick up a shuttle car there. Once a spring ebb starts to run it belts along about 9 knots so you want to get the timing right. Alternatively you can continue out of Kirkcudbright Bay, through the tidal races of Little Ross Sound and paddle round to Brighouse Bay.

The attractive harbour cottage was due to be demolished in 1957 but was reprieved and converted into a gallery.

22/03/2008

The fishermen of Kirkcudbright Harbour

The fishing fleet is in, bringing colour to Kirkcudbright Harbour.

Like Maidens, Kirkcudbright's fishing fleet declined during the first half of the 20th century. Then in the late 1950's a revival started after local man, John King, started lobster and scallop fishing. Gradually the number and size of the boats increased and construction changed from wood to steel. Today there is only one traditional wooden Scottish boat left. She is the "Fredwood" on the extreme right of the photograph. Most of the boats are scallop dredgers but "Argo", the small boat in the foreground, is a cockle dredger. One of the biggest boats is the blue boat, third from the right. She is the "King Explorer" and is part of the John King fleet.

A local economy has built round the fishing fleet; fish processing, dredging gear manufacturers, suppliers etc.. Local restaurants serve fresh scallops which make an excellent starter before a succulent grass fed Galloway fillet steak.


All this has come at a cost, in 1985 the "Mhari-L" was lost with all 5 hands. Then in 2000 the "Solway Harvester" was lost with all 7 hands. Both vessels were lost in the Irish sea between Galloway and the Isle of Man. On their way to the boats, fishermen walk past a memorial dedicated to the women and children of this and other Galloway fishing communities who have lost their menfolk.

22/03/2008

Maidens Harbour

Maidens Harbour wall was originally built to allow commericial fishing boats to remain at mooring rather than be dragged up out of the water onto the foreshore.


It does a really good job of protecting the enclosed harbour on what is a relatively exposed piece of coast.


Behind the wall the sea remains calm but over the years the harbour has silted up with sand.


The harbour has been taken over by the Maidens Community Harbour Trust. With the aid of a local authority grant, they bought a dredging barge and a dump truck. Volunteers are dredging the harbour but this time for recreational use.

O6/04/2008

A rest day on the Clyde.

As we drove south along the road above the cliffs south of Ayr the snow clouds that had gathered round parts of central Scotland cleared leaving a beautiful sunny afternoon. From a height of 125 meters, the sea below Balchriston Farm and Culzean Castle looked quite flat. Nontheless it looked a bit breezy for a crossing to Ailsa Craig! On the way south we had followed a 4x4 with 2 sea kayaks on the roof. It turned down the road to Dunure. Not an easy launch at high spring tide, I thought.


When we got to Maidens launching looked slightly problematical.


The cold north wind had generated some surprising waves, even in the confines of the Firth of Clyde. Surprisingly the hills of Arran had escaped the morning snowstorm which had hit Glasgow.


Even the sea birds were resting. I realized why I had left the kayaks at home.

06/04/2008