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RANNOCH MOOR
(S5x32)
Roy Goldring Graded Book 3
1- 4
1s cross down to dance ½ Fig of 8 round 2s and 1s dance into middle
(2
nd
place) as 2s step up
5- 8
1L+2M+3M dance RH across as 1M+2L+3L dance LH across and end in
Prom hold facing 3M
9-16
1s dance RSh reel of 3 across with 3s, 3s ending in 2
nd
place and 1s
facing 4M
17-24
1s dance reel of 3 across with 4s, with 4s ending in 3
rd
place and 1s
end in middle in 4
th
place
25-28
1L dances RH across with 4M+5M as 1M dances LH across with 4L+5L
29-32
1s cast up round 5s and cross down to 5th place own sides (5s step
up)
Rannoch Moor is a large expanse of around 50 square miles of boggy moorland to the west of Loch Rannoch, in
Perth and Kinross, designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area of Conservation, as it
is notable for its wildlife, particularly the sole British location for the Rannoch-rush, named after the moor.
It was also frequently visited by Horace Donisthorpe, who collected many unusual species of ants on the moor
and surrounding hilly ground. Today it is still one of the few remaining habitats for Formica exsecta, the "narrow-
headed ant", although recent surveys have failed to produce any sign of Formica pratensis, which Donisthorpe
recorded in the area in the early part of the 20
th
century.
This expanse was at the heart of the last significant icefield in the UK during the Loch Lomond Stadial at the end
of the last ice age. Once the great mass of ice had melted, the subsequent unburdening of the Earth's crust
resulted in a continuing rise in the land which is estimated to be of the order of 2–3 mm per year.
Peat deposits pose major difficulties to builders of roads and railways. The A82 road crosses through Rannoch
Moor on its way to Glen Coe and Fort William. When the West Highland Line was built across Rannoch Moor, its
builders had to float the tracks on a mattress of tree roots, brushwood and thousands of tons of earth and ashes.
The railway rises to over 1300 feet and travels over 23 miles of moorland.
In The System of the World, by Neal Stephenson, Rufus MacIan says "On the Muir of Rannoch, they grow braw, or
they grow na at all".
