We have quite a few days off Rona just now and if I get time tomorrow I will post why!!!

But to-day, (Tuesday) instead of sticking to shopping or running round Inverness I decided to take a trip round part of the North of Scotland. There is much about Re-Wilding, Nature, Nature Depletion, Peatland restoration, too many deer, not enough Wolves, Lynx, Mammoth, Elephants in Scotland. So I thought I would have a wee trip to re-aquaint myself with my old stomping ground. Where lots of Re-Wilding is taking place.

The trip was from Inverness to Braemore Estate on the Inverness to Ullapool road, thereafter Ullapool. But the storm that drove us off Rona yesterday was not too bad so I then decided to goup to the Lochinver road at Ledmore junction then to Lairg, Rogart, Dornoch and back to Inverness. Just a wee jaunt.

Yesterday on the way down the road from Kyle in the gloaming, I never saw any Red deer, at this time of year we should or would normally see dozens from the road. Lorraine did see three hinds in woods at Balmacra, but on the flats at Achanalt which usually resembles the Serengeti with deer, nothing.

I found out that an Estate up there was ordered to kill 1000 deer this winter. Contractors were brought in and between the Estate and Contractors I believe they have shot 600 each.

But I digress. To-day was another road also devoid of deer, but the weather is mild and the storm was certainly blowing. Perhaps they were on higher ground sheltering, those that are left.

The first photo (on a dreich day) was on the hill going down to Corrieshalloch. No deer, plenty activity Tree planters out on the hills at Droma, (possibly why there are no deer by the road) planting trees on peat? machines on the hill, fencing getting done, yet another new visitor centre for the West Coast with Columbian Coffe and Carrot Cake at the top of the Gorge . In my time bare hills up here were the norm, it never entered my head that trees could actually grow here. Fat chance of trees growing naturally though.

This square block, most likely a ‘trial’ plot has been here for many years, I would guess over 50? Just up the road from the Estate House drive. Now the fence has long disappeared, the LodgePole long blown down, it is a mess. Of course these trees will grow here, as in this case the ground was ploughed, fertilised and the fence maintained. Naturally no chance and not just because of the deer.

Turning round and taking a photo the other way shows another deer fenced enclosure with Scots Pine planted, pretty yellow, they could do with some NPK. It will be a pretty washed out site I would imagine. Good luck with that one but at least it is Scots Pine.

The Rewilders blame the deer for a lack of regeneration but where is the seed source. Just along the road there are long established forests of commercial timber but even the regen’ Sitka which is not palatable to deer have struggled to regenerate here.

Before long I suspect SWT who have just bought Inverbroom Estate down the road will be mounding like mad trying to be nature, forcing trees to grow on peat where no natural tree to Scotland would have any chance on the type of ground above the current treeline, it will be interesting to watch what happens next. Next stop Braemore Estate.

The Head Stalker at Braemore is a good friend, very knowledgeable about his craft and every aspect of the job, he has been in this walk of life since he left school. But sadly disillusioned with what is happening all around him, more later on that. But he keeps Braemore in good order despite recent felling and the road being churned up. We met him cutting up firewood on the drive. An hours visit quickly passed, much to discuss with his neighbouring Estate Inverbroom having just been sold to the SWT. We were also talking about recent mass culling schemes instigated by NS deer counts and sadly still continuing on Red deer on the Estate in question. The Deer there (it will remain nameless) have been harried all winter shot by Estate staff and Contractors. With no time to settle and continually on the move their condition is so poor that now, out of season, they are being shot and left on the hill, made to be worthless by a Government body that decrees this type of deer control, normal. It is a hideous way to treat wild animals, shame on them and their mates the Conservation charities for condoning and in some cases joining in with it (See JMT).

All too soon it was time to hit the road and head down into Loch Broom. The weather had calmed to a mere 25mph and we had a pleasant drive past the Estate in the news, Inverbroom. It was pleasing to see an Estate where the owner had spent a huge amount of money maintaining it and the buildings looked to be in tip top order, the home parks with some stock in also. They looked ‘clean and green’ a few sheep grazing in amongst the trees. On both sides of the glen here many trees, at 60 mph difficult to see what they were but they look like the Forestry Commission plantations of old, some huge trees by the road that were obviously planted by the hated Victorians!!! The hills above bare of trees, definitely the odd copse in a ravine or Sitka making its relentless way across the landscape, but I could not tell.

When you pass this Loch just short of Ledmore junction, I often wondered why are there trees on “Eilean na Gartaig”, so I asked my two contacts Dr James Fenton and Robin Noble:

James first,

Not complicated, Bill! Trees on islands because less grazing! Sometimes also small islands are better drained, consisting of rocky,stony soil without peat.

Many people, such as Stever Carver at Leeds University, conclude that, because some small islands are wooded, this should reflect what the whole landscape should look like. But all it shows is that there would be more woodland if there was no or little grazing, which does not reflect the real world. Modern research highlights the importance of grazing in shaping terrestrial ecosystems.

James

From Robin

Eilean na Gartaig is quite interesting, and I am sorry to say I have never landed on it………I might know more about it, if I had!

My geological map says it is Cambrian Quartzite (although the colour key has dots on it, without any further explanation), which is quite surprising as a location for woodland, but it might suggest that, given the excellent ground nearby in Elphin and Knockan, on limestone, nobody ever bothered to do anything with the land there……..

But its apparent ‘loneliness’ as the only bit of woodland you can see from where you photographed it, is misleading: there is woodland along quite a bit of the Cul Mor shore of Loch Veyatie, and two patches of woodland, one quite small, on the peninsula between Lochs Veyatie and Cam. And, although the maps don’t show it, there are small patches of trees along the long NE shore of Cam Loch; there has clearly once been woodland running up from the shore by the attractive burn that leads down from Loch a’ Chroisg, especially on its east. I know that when John Home did his Assynt Survey in 1774, some woods had been felled ’near Ledmore’, and it is just possible that this woodland disappeared around the same time. The best remaining birch here shows signs of having been cut at least once.

And, at the back of the big limestone crag, on the SW shore of Loch Urigill is another area of mostly birch woodland. So around Elphin and Knockan, there is actually quite a bit of woodland, and the island is not the only bit…….but it is still densely wooded, and would be very interesting to visit………..I also have no idea what the name means, unless it is a very bad corruption of the word for garlic, which my dictionary shows as “ gairgean’……..I think that ramsons grows on it.

Robin.

Moving on we took a right down to Strath Oykell.

Commission I know not but I wonder if there is a Deer Management Plan for these blocks which stretched right down to Rogart, not continuous but not far apart. Again ploughed peat I expect, old trees ready to harvest and new plantations very common. I don’t personally have a problem with Commercial Forestry I completely understand the need for homegrown timber, aesthetically it does not sit right in these remote Glens. The aftermath is ugly to say the least, one area seemed to have been burnt or machine ground down, but I had stopped enough for Lorraine.

Quite a few of the new planting schemes were very yellow for want of some fertiliser which shows how poor the ground there is. This is not the worst I saw but interesting how the trees got greener heading East and this was common on these individual schemes. Half yellow/half green, West/East.

Coming into Rosehall we had Langwell and Rossal to pass, great sheep runs of the not so distant past, still farming but the whole area has not the sheep it used to have on the ground. The whole culture of the great sheep days is often criticised but when you consider the Community, the workers, the schools, even the shops that I delivered to in a previous life, the seasonal workers, the lambing, shearing, traditional stalking, Hotels, The Big House. The big sheds now quiet. Also I must add the fishing, a sad tale of a glorious past. I am far from knowledgeable of this area, I have just my observations and contacts that have given me a little bit of history but enough to have seen these Glens bustling with activity.I find it has a strange melancholy over it (for me).

Even the Forestry, I myself worked in these areas, at Achany, fertilising, just another casual visiting worker. Only to depart, occasionally returning to walk a fence or shoot some marauding deer who have had the cheek to invade the Commercial Forest!!!! Where before squads of men were resident.

We reached Rogart, turned right and as Lorraine was getting very uncomfortable we headed for home, my mini tour of this part of Scotland had satisfied me. Looking forward to the next one.

Finally a wee thought, looking at the landscape and apart from the very thin soil/peat, this is a vast area of Peatland, there are many Forestry plantations. I wonder would these be allowed to-day, or after felling are they allowed to re-plant, on peat? So many questions. Lately I had a discussion about Peatland restoration with a Manager of a National Trust property. I had said that I found the whole Restoration thing ‘Bonkers’. He is going to educate me on why it is not!!!!!

So here we have an aeriel photo courtesy of Google. West of Strathcaniard it shows in my mind 100s of hectres of peat, most of it in its natural state of progress, to me this screen shot shows a totally natural environment but to Peatland Restoration supporters this is what they call ‘Nature Depleted’. In their world a 20 tonne digger roaming about re-shaping this is the way forward. This landscape in the photo has taken millennia to get to this stage and because there are grants galore there is now a whole industry on the back of Peatland Restoration. That is ‘Bonkers”

PS: I’ll check the spelling tonight.