After several warm days it was disappointing when Saturday 3rd May dawned overcast and cool. However, at around 11 am, three cars and eight people arrived at the Visitor Centre at Falls of Shin, near Bonar Bridge and Lairg in Sutherland.
The Visitor Centre, which has a chequered history, has been closed since it suffered an electrical fire at the end of December 2024. On 21st May 2013 fire destroyed Mohamed Al Fayed’s Highland Visitor Centre – Harrods of the North - where there was a waxwork model of Al Fayed. Balnagown Estates worked with Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust to create a new visitor attraction.
In May 2017 the present salmon-shaped building was completed. Having decided to enjoy our picnic lunch at the tables behind the car park, we were relieved not to have to carry our lunch with us. We started up the yellow and green route intending to split at the junction to allow those who preferred to do the shorter yellow walk to separate from those wanting to do the longer green walk. Somehow we missed the turn off and all of us managed the longer green walk. There were wild primroses everywhere in full bloom. We also found a clump of tiny, pale pink fungi in a damp ditch which no one could identify. We were back to the car park by 12:30, a perfect time for lunch.
Once ready to continue, we went down the steep zig-zag path to the falls which, although they have been dynamited to improve the salmon access, are still impressive. Some of the group opted out of the blue walk which actually proved the more interesting. At the start we found a patch of cuckoo flowers and along the way wood anemones, violets and yet more primroses. We spotted a rotten log covered with strange, pear shaped fungi about the size of the first joint of your thumb. We couldn’t get close enough to inspect them properly but managed some photos. Also, we found a rock ‘table’ with six ‘seats’, perfect for a picnic. We were fortunate that the rain held off and a weary but happy group drove back to Dingwall.
