Lecht Mine

An interesting and enjoyable short walk in bright sunshine along the Allt na Broighleigh burn to the isolated Lecht Mine. Along the banks of the burn there were late Marsh marigolds, spearwort and mimulus. A red deer hind appeared briefly on the hillside.

The mine, close to the site of a medieval shieling was worked for two brief periods. Firstly between 1730 and 1735 iron ore was extracted - this was transported to Nethy Bridge by pack ponies. There it was smelted in furnaces fuelled by charcoal from the Abernethy Forest. The River Nethy powered  waterwheels which operated a large hammer to crush the ore and a pair of bellows for the furnace. Two of the giant hammers which are on display in Nethy are shown in the extra.

The building in the main picture is the crushing plant for the manganese mine which operated between 1841 and 1846 employing about 60 men who mined and processed manganese which was used in the manufacture of bleach. The manganese powder was taken to Buckie for transportation by sea to Newcastle. A huge drop in the price of the mineral resulted in the closure of the mine.

Spoil heaps can still be seen on the hillside above the crushing plant - an extraordinary sight in this isolated spot.