Storm Ashley dishes out ‘mega-battering’ - but Gairloch Sitooterie’s still standing!
AN award-winning Wester Ross coastal garden created from a strip of neglected wasteland took a “mega-battering” but has survived the worst of what Storm Ashley could throw at it.
The Sitooterie in Gairloch has delighted locals in Gairloch and thousands of visitors to the village since a group of determined volunteers shaped it back in 2015.
The observation garden took root after members of the local community funded the clearing of a small area amid the totally overgrown gorse that dominated the verge alongside Pier Road.
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Since then it has steadily expanded to become its current 206-metre length.
It has been battered and bruised by storms in the past but always bounced back.
And when Storm Ashley battered parts of Wester Ross overnight on Sunday, with some locals posting dramatic footage of roiling waves, many feared the worst.
But one of the stalwarts behind the Sitooterie, David Carruthers, said: “The Sitooterie took a mega-battering but happily survived undamaged!
“Yes, we have a mountain of seaweed to clear and a few barrels, moved by the waves, to put back in place!
“Over the years we have managed to make the Sitooterie very resilient to storms such as Ashley. Vulnerable pathways have been paved, sections have been raised, and breakwater walls built.
“We can rapidly erect a defensive barrier around a low-lying rockery, and we have a team member who can calculate and predict the height of a tidal surge. Storm Ashley had a 100cms surge over the normal high tide height.”
Jennifer McLagan was amongst many well-wishers expressing their relief on the Sitooterie’s own dedicated Facebook page. She posted: “I so admire the spirit of the volunteers in the face of all that nature can throw at them.
!However it’s wonderful how nature, with a little help, can recover even in the most difficult of circumstances. Well done everone.”
