Until about the early twentieth century, cattle were driven from the highlands and islands of Scotland to the markets in the lowlands from where they were sent on to towns and cities throughout mainland Britain. In this talk, Paul Carter will give a review of Scottish Droving during 1750-1850, and then follow in the drovers' footsteps through Argyll and the last stage from Fintry to the Tryst at Falkirk. He will also describe what can still be seen of drove roads in the landscape.
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| Cattle near the Cross Borders Drove Road. (© Jim Barton (cc-by-sa/2.0)) |
Paul Carter is a retired geologist who worked for civil engineering consultants Babtie, Shaw and Morton (BSM) in the 1970s on major infrastructure schemes including the Kielder Dam and tunnels. He then founded Babtie Geotechnical as a group with BSM in the early 1980s and was Managing Director until the late 1990s when he took early retirement. Paul has also been involved in the Forth and Clyde Canal Society from its foundation and is editor of Canal News and the Forth and Clyde Canal Guidebook. He is a keen ornithologist and carries out regular surveys of various types of birds for the British Trust for Ornithology, and is a leading light in the Friends of the Kelvin Valley and edits their newsletter, Kelvin Valley News.
The meeting will be held in the Park Centre, 45 Kerr Street, Kirkintilloch, G66 1LF at 7.30 pm. The annual membership subscription is £10 and visitors are welcome at all of the Society's evening events.
