Transport plants to hill via pony at Loch Arkaig
The photograph was taken by the late Finlay MacRae who was a District Officer in the Forestry Commission based in Lochaber at the time. The images are courtesy of his daughter Donna.
A lovely image of pony and pony man engaged in carrying young trees up the hill for the forest workers to plant up one of the forest areas well up the north side of Loch Arkaig beside the public road. The view is down the loch towards Clunes.
The pony is harnessed with a well made load carrying saddle fitted with four straps that go under the belly and one breast strap. The curved iron load arms hold the loads – one on either side. The pony man leads the pony via a short rein.
The young trees have been packed into hessian bags by one of the workers and one is about to be loaded onto the saddle. One assumes they would be emptied from the hessian bags on the planting site up the hill and sheughed into a moist drain. Note the old branch wood brought up by the shallow ploughing indicating a previous crop. Could this crop have been felled during the war? Also see the well made sectional shed at the gate that could be a wet weather shelter for forest workers.
Can the two men be named? Any other points and comments very welcome.
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Groups: Forestry Areas, Forestry Mechanical Engineering Reports , Horses at work in Forests