12 Boules Conquer the Elements by John Holley see picture on back page.... Following one of the worst winters experienced in Ballater for the past 30 to 40 years the Ballater Boules Challenge faced up to all the elements thrown at it and came out a winner. The ‘Challenge’, in its fifth successful season, was hit by some extreme weather, but despite this we cancelled just two gatherings. We are very much aware that playing through a Ballater winter can cause problems but to lose just two meetings during the 2009/2010 winter was a great achievement and congratulations must go to our players for their unabated enthusiasm. Once again we achieved an average turnout throughout the season of 35 which is amazing for a game that is expected to be
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played in warm sunshine with a glass of Pernod (or similar!) in hand! During the festive season we raised £375 for the Ballater Enhancement Group over our two charity days, the ‘Golden Boules Trophy’ played for at Christmas and the ‘New Year Quaich’ hard fought for in January. Thanks to the generosity of our players we broke all our previous records for collections donated to local good causes. The Golden Boules Trophy was won by ‘Jones Laing ‘ (Martin Young & Alastair Whitson) and the ‘New Year Quaich’ was won by the ‘R aedykers’ (Ian & Ann Ritchie). ‘Jones Laing’ also achieved the most wins for the season. Several new faces joined us during the season. All were warmly welcomed and quickly began to enjoy the fun and friendship the Challenge offers. Our meetings could not run smoothly without the help of many people who offer their services freely without having to be asked. However, special thanks must go to the following for their invaluable assistance: Chris Perrin, Michael & Maria Franklin, Ian Ritchie, Martin Young, Alistair Cassie and Jean Holley. The fifth season finished as usual with a superb BBQ that was enjoyed by 65 people. Thankfully, on this occasion the weather was very kind to us and to use a cliché, a good time was had by all! Our sixth season will commence in late October and run through to early April 2011. A final list of dates will be posted in Alistair Cassie’s Emporium window in early October or visit www.ballaterboules.webs.com or email ballaterboules@gmail.com
forced to purchase the whole of Pannanich Hill to secure his investment in the mineral wells. He then planted the hill with Scots pine seedlings from his tree nursery in the field below Monaltrie House. The Dalmuchie burn reaches the Dee just beyond this point, and only a few yards up the burn you could still find the sawdust from an early sawmill. The water power to drive this mill came from a dam farther up the burn beside the Ballater butcher’s killing house in the wood. By the time of the Great War the hill had been replanted for a second time and these were the trees that the men of the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit clearfelled in the 1940s to provide pit props for the coal industry in war-time Britain. At this point, we return to the road. Only a hundred yards on, a large twin oak tree grows out of the pavement. This is the Wishing Tree, under which generations of Ballater courting couples have silently embraced while ‘wishing’. Round the next corner is evidence of the old Pannanich brae granite quarry. This was the scene of a tragic traffic accident in 1941, when two Newfoundlanders lost their lives. The lumberjacks were buried across the river in Tullich kirkyard. Pannanich Wells Hotel, right at the top of the hill, was built out of this quarry. This new section of road was opened specifically to allow easier access to the mineral springs after the first Ballater Bridge opened in 1783. Pannanich Lodge and the Dalmuchie ferry fell into decline after Ballater Bridge and Pannanich Wells Hotel were built. With the sudden collapse of this early bridge in 1799, Lodge and ferry gained a new lease of life until Telford built the second bridge some years later. We continue along the road a couple of hundred yards past the hotel, and here we
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