Drove Road walking
Journey to the Heart of Place - 30th June – 8th July 2012
This journey involved a diverse group of professional and amateur artists, ecologists, storytellers, historians and educators, some local and others from the SpeyGrian Network. The group travelled from Kingussie to Kindrogan, via Blair Atholl, with ponies and cattle, following the old droving and coffin roads. The route included the Minigaig Pass (an ancient drove road connecting Speyside to Atholl) and the Shinigaig Pass (a coffin road connecting Blair Atholl and Glen Brerechan). The theme of this 'mobile conference' was to explore how a road is more than a line of communication between places, but has a life of its own, with unique stories to tell, linking people, places and journeys over time - the journey itself linking across generations.
Ponies and cattle were provided by Ruaraidh Ormiston from Newtonmore who accompanied us on our journey. Ruaridh's family have bred ponies and cattle in Speyside for several generations and have some fascinating links with the drovers.
