IN THE HIGHLANDS 31 



Loch Maree road, but went on witli local roads, sucli as 

 from Kerrysdale to Eed Point, Strath to Melvaig, and 

 Poolewe to Cove; and instead of the little narrow 

 switchback road from Slatadale to the Tigh Dige, 

 an almost entirely new road was made from Loch Maree 

 to Gairloch through the Kerry Glen. After the good 

 example of the Gairloch trustees, other neighbouring 

 proprietors followed suit, and the lairds of Gruinord 

 and Dundonnell in course of time made a road the whole 

 way from Poolewe, via Aultbea, Gruinord, and 

 Dundonnell, to join the Garve and Ullapool road at 

 Braemore. This gave the whole of the coast-line from 

 the mouth of Loch Torridon to Loch Broom the benefit 

 of more or less good highways, which are all now county 

 roads. How well do I remember the first wheeled 

 vehicle, a carrier's cart, that ever came to Gairloch, 

 and the excitement it caused ! 



My uncle says : " There being no need of wheels in a 

 roadless country in my young days, we had only sledges 

 in place of wheeled carts, all made by our grieve. He 

 took two birch-trees of the most suitable bends and of 

 them made the two shafts, with iron-work to suit the 

 harness for collar straps. The ends of the shafts were 

 sliced away with an adze at the proper angle to slide 

 easily and smoothly on the ground. Two planks, 

 one behind the horse and the other about half-way up 

 the shaft ends, were securely nailed to the shafts, and 

 were bored with holes to receive four-foot-long hazel 

 rungs to form the front and back of the cart and to keep 

 in the goods, a similar plank on the top of the rungs 

 making the front and rear of the cart surprisingly stable 



