Twelve members assembled at the north end of Loch Oude in a small car park, next to the bridge for our walk to Melfort. The track started directly from the car park and led south through Raera Forest towards Melfort, a distance of about two and a half miles. There are good views of Loch Oude from the track and several burns at the side which run into the dam. There was also a bench located at one of these points, good for a rest and quiet reflection.
Further on there were several small controlled dams which also feed the loch, which in turn feed the Power Station at Kilmelfort. At one of these stops we found the Hard-shield Fern a new species addition, and a good find.
Amongst the Sitka Spruce and other conifers we found areas of European Larch (Larix decidua). The European Larch is a quick growing tree, capable of reaching 130ft(40m). Being deciduous it is often treated as a honorary broadleaf to provide diversity in conifer plantations. These trees provided an opportunity to see some of the target forest birds we were hoping for, and through the calls we were fortunate to find three Common Crossbills, including a male and several Coal Tits.
The hill above the village of Melfort known as An Sithean (Hill of the Fairies) holds a cave of archaeological interest. The Celts are thought to have believed in fairies and the cave and hill could have had mystical meaning. There are many other sites in Argyll with the same name indicating this could have been common practice.
The blasting operations of the Hydro Board in 1956 exposed a cave halfway up the hill which was subsequently excavated by the University of Edinburgh’s Department of Archaeology. Several hundred flint and quartz artifacts were recovered as well as a few scraps of teeth and charcoal fragments which date back to the period approximately 5000 BC and represent the debris of a temporary seasonal occupation by a hunting or a gathering group. Unfortunately the blasting has covered the occupation debris largely at the cave entrance, immediately outside it where most of the activities would have taken place, i.e. butchering, cooking and eating, working of tools and equipment.
We stopped for our lunch at a picnic table, taking in the wonderful views down Loch Melfort. Once fed and watered we continued towards Melfort following the hydro pipe down the hill and eventually some steps to the bottom. In summer this is an excellent location for the Scotch Argus butterfly.
Kilmelfort Hydro-electric Power Station was commissioned in 1956 and is now owned by Scottish and Southern Energy. It was built by the North of Scotland Hydro-electric Board to supply the communities of the Highlands. These plants were built in several "schemes" of linked stations, each covering a catchment area whereby the same water can generate power several times as it descends, thus providing an early source of renewable energy !!
Approaching Melfort we discovered this new lichen below Cladonia floerkeana with its red pycnidia. The podetia in this species are very distinctive and tall. They have been recorded as high as 60 mm although the norm is in the range 10 mm to 30 mm high, with a diameter of 1.5 mm. Podetia may be branched at the tips; branching is more frequent at the base near the small primary squamules (8mm long). Coarse squamules cover podetia. Apothecia form on the rim of the tip of the podetia; these are common and are light to dark brown in colour. Red pycnidia also form on the tips of the podetia.
We visited Melfort shop and discovered some interesting facts about the site prior to its present use as a time share village. Melfort was an ideal location for the manufacture of gunpowder and was not only secluded, but had a deep water pier and plentiful supplies of scrub oak. To understand the advantage of these features, one needs to have a quick look at the actual manufacture of the black powder as it was practiced at Melfort. The first stage was preparing the raw materials by refining the salt-petre and sulphur, manufacturing the charcoal from the oak scrub and then pulverising the ingredients separately and mixing them in required proportions. The gunpowder was then incorporated by mechanically grinding and crushing the ingredients into an intimate mixture. At this stage the gunpowder was in the form of a damp paste known as "miilcake" This was pressed in hard slate-like sheets of press cake corned or formed into grains of various sizes, dusted, glazed and finally dried. Charcoal was the variable factor in the composition and its preparation involved selection of the wood to be used and control of the burning process. The traditional method of charring wood in stacks made excellent charcoal for fuel, but the product was too impure and uneven as an ingredient of gunpowder. A new method of distilling wood in sealed retorts was therefore developed in the late 18th century. Coppices were planted around powder mills to supply the necessary wood salt-petre in the form of fine crystals which could be used straight from the refinery, but the charcoal and sulphur had to be pulverised. This was done traditionally in crushing mills with stone-edged runners rolling upon a circular bedstone, and in the 19th century machines similar to giant coffee grinders were introduced for pulverising charcoal. The powdered ingredients were each believed to ensure uniformity to remove any gritty particles which might cause an explosion during manufacture. The salt-petre, charcoal and sulphur were then weighed out normally in the proportions of 75 /75 /70 and mixed in a revolving drum to produce the green charge for the incorporating mills. Incorporating mills with stone-edged runners were introduced in Britain in the early 18th century. The charge was moistened and kept damp throughout the incorporating process which lasted for about 2 hours for common blasting powder, and 8 hours or more for the finest sporting grades. Production was continuous with the workforce operating a shift system. In the 19th century steam engines and later water turbines were introduced to drive incorporating mills and other equipment, the remnants of which are still evident at Melfort. Improvements were made in the design and this enabled a larger charge to be processed. Pressing the "millcake" to increase its specific gravity was introduced in the 18th century. Granulating machines with toothed rollers cut the press cake into pieces. After it was corned, the remaining dust was removed by tumbling the powder in gauze-covered revolving cylinders. The powder was dried normally by heating of steam pipes and traditionally packed in oak barrels and kegs of various sizes. Most powder mills had their own cooperage and this employed a large proportion of the workforce. For transport within factories, punts were used on millstreams wherever possible and tramways were laid to connect the different buildings, with the trams pulled by horses or pushed by workmen. Gunpowder was stored in factory magazines while awaiting despatch. There was a considerable coastal traffic in gunpowder for which the Government and several private firms like Harrison and Ainsley maintained their own fleets of sailing barges. Minor accidents were commonplace and most mills would experience a fatal explosion occasionally. Fortunately, the number of casualties was not usually large in comparison, for example, with mining disasters, but details are invariably gruesome. At Melfort in 1867 for example, an explosion took place resulting in the total destruction of the powder works as recorded in the "Oban Times" of 9 March. This article tells of a bale of cloth being thrown from the last building to a distance of about a mile and many of the windows in the houses were smashed by the concussion of air. Inevitably automation and the development of dynamite brought about the decline of the works. Now some 120 years later and housed in the old buildings the Melfort Club flourishes. The names of the cottages reflect their function within the framework of the old gunpowder village. The ruins and the lade along the banks of the River Oude along with certain remnants of the tramway which ran from the village to the pier at Fearnach Bay complete the picture. The very existence of the Melfort Club in its present form ensures that the illustrious history and the uniqueness of the Melfort village will be preserved for many generations to come. There were also other Gunpowder Works besides Melfort in Argyll at Furness on Loch Fyne, Milhouse/Kames and Glen Lean near Sandbank.
Our return journey was back along the same track, but this did not prevent us from discovering new interest. Along the path which leads up steps to Fairy Hill, and in a sheltered position we discovered this Wild Strawberry, our first flowering plant of the year. Back at the picnic bench we took another look west down Loch Melfort and took in the beautiful view for a second time.
Continuing our walk back we were still in search of two other target species for this conifer forest, Siskin and Goldcrest. However we were not to be disappointed as a flock of Siskin could be heard chattering as they moved through the trees, searching for food. We eventually had glimpses of them high in the Larches whilst two Goldcrest were also close by, given away by their thin piping calls, whilst they fed on small insects amongst the conifers.
Our final discovery was on a small Willow at the side of the loch where several lichen species were all providing easy photographic opportunities. The first two (shown below) are Degelia plumbea (with its orangey red centre) and Degelia atlantica both indicative of Atlantic woodland.
A further two species were added Usnea cornuta and Leptogium cyanescens also further indicators of the unpolluted quality of the air here on the west coast of Scotland.
Returning to our cars we all felt this walk had been good value for money with not only interesting natural history but also the local history at Melfort.
by Richard Wesley
Photos Copyright of Seil Natural History Group
Website :- SNHG Website
