Days out in Grampian: Cabrach Discovery Trail opening
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Having secured enough cash to build a small distillery the Cabrach Trust is now inviting folk to come see what else is going on.
The 'Cabrach Discovery Trail', a 2km-long nature walk beside the picturesque River Deveron, is being officially opened a week on Saturday.
On the day there'll also be the chance to see how the trust is helping to teach rural skills such as drystone walling and foraging.
Jonathan Christie only took over the reins at the Cabrach Trust last April.
He attributes the great strides made since then to "a combination of renewed enthusiasm and useful connections".
In December the trust announced it had finally secured the £3.5million required to open what will be the first distillery in the immediate area for almost two centuries.
A new access road is currently being built to where the distillery is going to be sited at Inverharroch Steading, a former farm with 170 acres of land in the Lower Cabrach.
The road, due to be completed just 10 weeks from now, will be big enough for both delivery lorries and coachloads of visitors. Two outbuildings have also been demolished to make way for a carpark.
Yet the trust aims to bring more people to the Cabrach than just dedicated whisky fans.
Since their launch two months ago, the rural skills workshops have proved more popular with the public than the trust had ever hoped.
Work on the nature trail began last summer.
Already a couple of ponds have been dug to attract wildlife and, thanks to the seed planting efforts of the pupils at Alford School, the trail is soon set to feature a wildflower meadow.
Meanwhile, a large number of saplings have been planted beside the river, and a good spot has been marked out for a nature hide.
At the turn of the 20th Century the Cabrach had a thriving population of 1000 people – ten times the number it has now.
The trust was established in 2011 to try halt that decline.
Previously, Jonathan used to work for the charitable Wood Foundation in Aberdeen.
What drew him to apply for the job in the Cabrach last year was, he says, the chance to make a very big difference to a small community.
Having grown up on a farm, he also doesn't miss the traffic-logged commute to and from the Granite City.
It's an attitude shared by Sam Dowdall, a former shopping centre manager, who is the trust's development manger and only other full-time employee.
Jonathan says: "Historically in Scotland there's always been a line of thinking that sees being remote or rural as disadvantages.
"We'd like to turn things on their head and show that, actually, they are real advantages nowadays.
"I think, since lockdown, more and more people are beginning to view things this way."
However the distillery firmly remains what Jonathan calls the "main project".
Production of 140,000 bottles a year is scheduled to begin by the end of summer 2023, to be followed later by a visitor centre and café.
The whisky will be created by methods and equipment which, allowing for modern health and safety regulations, are going to be almost identical to those employed during the early 1800s.
That was the era when the Cabrach was at the very heart of Scotland's illicit whisky industry, before things became legal and production moved away to be nearer to larger population centres.
Jonathan says: "Our distillery is going to offer something of an 'origin story' for whisky.
"People will be able to see how whisky was once made and learn about the history of illegal stills and smuggling.
"They could then head next to Dufftown, which is only six miles away, to witness how whisky is made in modern times. It would be a fascinating trip to make."
The open day at Inverharroch Steading is taking place on Saturday, April 30, from 11am onwards.
Maureen Sheed, the eldest member of the Cabrach's oldest family, will be the guest of honour alongside Andy Simpson, the Lord Lieutenant of Banffshire. Complimentary afternoon teas will be available.
