Page 7 - W M Donald Newsletter - Edition Eleven

W M Donald battles through at Culloden
On the majority of the projects it works on, W M Donald undertakes the enabling works and builds the water, wastewater and gas infrastructure. On the Scotia Homes project at Culloden, all the infrastructure is already in place and W M Donald is only responsible for the foundations and plotworks.
Ground conditions on the site are challenging. The structural platforms are already in place but the workscope requires W M Donald to cut through them.
Kris Brown is W M Donald’s Site Supervisor:
‘The difference with the Culloden project is that we are working with what someone else has already built.
When we first arrived on site, the weather was favourable and site conditions were straightforward. However, as soon as it rained – and it has rained a lot! – the ground soon turned to mud. I’m convinced that Inverness has a climate all of its own!’
So far almost thirty of the 100 units have been completed.
The Culloden site is close to the Culloden battlefield at Drummossie Moor. The Battle of Culloden, fought on 16 April 1746, was the last pitched battle fought on British soil. It ended with a decisive defeat for the Jacobites by the British government forces.
Clootie Wells
Both the Culbokie and Culloden projects are located near to ‘clootie wells’. In the case of Culbokie, it is the Munlochy clootie well, and for Culloden, Saint Mary’s clootie well.
The ‘cloot’ is a piece of rag or cloth which is dipped into the ‘clootie well’ and then tied to a tree in the hope that a sickness or ailment will fade as the rag disintegrates.
You can find out more about the Munlochy Clootie Well at: https://forestryandland.gov.scot/visit/ munlochy-clootie-well
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