People power has restored safe access to Perth’s Buckie Braes. Craigie Hill Golf Club teamed up with a community group and local businesses to repair a disintegrating path to the beauty spot. It comes after a flash flood washed away part of the route in 2022.
The path was reduced to just a foot-and-a-half wide in places. Perth and Kinross Council put up a temporary fence and warning signs. But now local users have banded together with businessman Athole McDonald and Tayside groundworks specialists to provide a permanent solution.
A four-strong Kilmac team, led by Perth-based foreman Jimmy Riddoch, spent a week reconstructing the damaged path. They shored up the base and installed a new fence over the burn. Mr McDonald is managing director of Kilmac and a long-time member of .
He said the team got permission from SEPA and the to carry out the repairs. “We brought in 40 tons of stone rock armour with a dumper via the adjacent golf course,” said Mr McDonald. “It was a big job.
The path was only 18in wide and in dire danger of deteriorating even further. That would have seen it closed. “It’s great to see it back in use and being enjoyed safely once again,” he added.
The six-acre Buckie Braes, near , has been a popular recreational area for more than a century. It is part of a wider core path network, linking Mailer Hill, St Magdalene’s Hill and , and is popular with walkers, dog walkers, runners and cyclists. But safety fears over the path had threatened to restrict access.
Former councillor Willie Wilson is chairman of the Buckie Braes Group, which involved representatives of various local organisations with an interest in the area. He said members were delighted with the result. “The last flooding incident caused serious erosion to the core path near the top of the Braes and undermined previous restoration work,” he said.
“With money tight everywhere, we are exploring potential ways of maintaining this community asset.”.
