These blogs feature my writing and photographs from my experiences out in the Caledonian Forest and other natural ecosystems. Please subscribe to receive automatic notifications when new blog posts are added.
Alan’s blog
Alan’s blog
A great year for rowan flowers
It has been a different experience to usual for me this spring, as I was away in southern South America for over 3 weeks from the middle of April onwards, where it was autumn in the forests. For the first time in many years therefore, I’ve missed out on some of my favourite phenomena in the Caledonian Forest – the return of the leaves on the trees, and the exuberance of the spring flowers, such as primroses and wood anemones, on the forest floor. [Read more…] about A great year for rowan flowers
The first signs of spring
By the middle of March the days are getting longer and the equinox, when there’s 12 hours between sunrise and sunset, is not far off. The first indications of new life were already visible where I live on the Moray Firth coast at Findhorn, with daffodils getting ready to flower and pussy willows appearing on the willow trees, so I headed out to Glen Affric to see if spring was also making its presence felt there. Situated inland, amongst the mountains to the west of Loch Ness and at a higher elevation, Glen Affric is always behind Findhorn with the return of life each year, but nevertheless I hoped there would be something to see already. [Read more…] about The first signs of spring
Frosty morning at Dundreggan
During early March we held a three day conference for our staff at Dundreggan, to look at our organisational strategy, and the direction that Trees for Life is going in with its work. Those of us based at our Findhorn office stayed over at Dundreggan for two nights, and on the third day I woke up early to find it was a clear and cold morning, with a thick frost covering all the trees and grass etc. Dressing quickly, I headed outside to enjoy the beauty of the morning for an hour or so before the final session of our conference. [Read more…] about Frosty morning at Dundreggan
A torrent in the forest, soon to be diverted?
This winter continues to be one of constant change, with wildly fluctuating weather and frequent storms hitting the north of Scotland. After a cold spell of two or three days in the second half of January, with snow and freezing, sub-zero conditions, a warm front moved in quickly from the west, and within less than 24 hours the temperature rose to 14°C. As a result, the snow held in the mountains melted very rapidly, swelling the rivers and burns, making for spectacular torrents where there are normally more sedate and gentle flows of water. [Read more…] about A torrent in the forest, soon to be diverted?
Ice formations on the Red Burn
It has been a very mild winter so far in the Highlands this year, with only a couple of relatively small snowfalls that haven’t lasted for more than day or two before the temperatures have risen again. During a recent visit to Dundreggan for a meeting, therefore, on a frosty day when there was still some snow on the ground, I took the opportunity of spending an hour and a half with my camera to document some of the beauty of the winter weather. [Read more…] about Ice formations on the Red Burn
Hair ice and frosted lichens
In the middle of December, on a cold and frosty morning, I decided to make a return visit to Inverfarigaig, to explore more of the temperate rainforest in the gorge there. I’d spent a very satisfying day at the site in early November, which featured in a recent blog I wrote, and my appetite had been whetted then to discover more of this special area, on the southeast side of Loch Ness. On that day I’d spent almost all my time in a very small section of the gorge, and I suspected that there would be a lot more of interest, if I looked at other parts of the area. [Read more…] about Hair ice and frosted lichens
Winter meets autumn in Glen Affric
At the end of November, the weather in the Highlands turned cold after having been relatively mild throughout most of the autumn. The unseasonably warm temperatures we’d had in October and much of November resulted in many of the deciduous leaves remaining on the trees for longer than usual. So it was that when it finally became colder and the first snowfall took place, we had what is a relatively rare experience in Scotland – fresh snow on the autumn-coloured leaves of the trees. [Read more…] about Winter meets autumn in Glen Affric
Remembering Doug Tompkins
The world lost one of its leading and most effective conservationists this week, with the passing of Doug Tompkins, as a result of a kayaking accident on Lago General Carrera in southern Patagonia in Chile. Although he was perhaps not well known in the UK outside of conservation circles, he made a huge impact with his life in two very different fields. Firstly, as a founder of the North Face outdoor clothing and equipment company and as a co-founder of the Esprit clothing chain, he was a successful businessman. However, it was only when he left the business world behind, and devoted the last 25 years of his life to his true passion – the protection of wilderness areas – that he began to build a legacy that will persist for decades and even centuries to come. [Read more…] about Remembering Doug Tompkins
Autumn in the Inverfarigaig rainforest
Inverfarigaig is a small village on the southeast side of Loch Ness, about halfway down the loch’s 23 mile length, which takes its name from the River Farigaig that discharges into the loch there. ‘Inver’ is derived from the Gaelic word ‘inhbir’, meaning ‘the mouth of a river’ and the Farigaig flows from the Monadhliath Mountains, which lie between Loch Ness and the Strathspey valley to the east. Near its confluence with the loch, the river flows through a narrow gorge which provides both an important habitat and some degree of protection for a special area of woodland. [Read more…] about Autumn in the Inverfarigaig rainforest
A day in the Levishie rainforest
About six miles downstream from Dundreggan, and just a mile from where the River Moriston flows into Loch Ness, Glenmoriston narrows dramatically at a place called Levishie. The topography there steepens, and on the south side of the glen in particular the land slopes precipitously down to the river. This provides shade from the sun for most of the year, as well as some protection from the wind, and these factors, together with the constant spray of water from the gently tumbling water, create ideal conditions for a small patch of temperate rainforest to flourish alongside the river there. [Read more…] about A day in the Levishie rainforest