It's a dog's life

HAYLEY FLETCHER MEETS A MAN LIVING OUT HIS DREAMS IN THE CAIRNGORM MOUNTAINS

For decades, shepherds like Murdo MacKenzie tended sheep in the wildest, most isolated parts of the Cairngorm Mountains. Driving them for miles across unforgivably harsh terrain, they would eventually arrive at Braemar market, on the far side of the mountains. The remote location of these trails has secured their part in history, but with two teams of 10 dogs and sleds, history is being revisited, and some of the quietest corners of Scotland are being rediscovered … at dog's-eye-level.

The enormous sign of a paw print at the roadside does little to suggest the scale of the activity taking place a mile up the rough track at the Cairngorm Sled-dog Adventure Centre. Approaching by foot, the peaceful harmony of birdsong is obliterated by an unexpected cacophony of barks, yelps and whines that erupts from a multitude of dogs, leaping excitedly onto kennels and scarpering along their exercise lines. If it weren't for the Mexican wave of wagging tails, one would be tempted to flee in terror, but the dogs' delight is understandable: for them the sight of mildly panicking visitors is likely to mean one thing: a damned good run.

Under the expert eye of their breeder, trainer, handler and number-one fan, Alan Stewart, the dogs are exercised daily. This is no mean feat when some of the huskies in the team are capable of running up to 60 miles a day when in peak fitness. With the Cairngorm Mountains looming in the distance, and forests and lochsides on the doorstep, there is no shorta...

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• By : Hayley Fletcher
• In : Outdoor Scotland
• Issue : 6
• Page : 20
• Words : 1,513