ECOLOGIST, NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER AND INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER
FOUNDER OF THE AWARD-WINNING CHARITY TREES FOR LIFE
A week after my visit to the large aspen stand in the River Cannich gorge, I spent a day in Glen Strathfarrar. As it turned out, it was another day in which most of my time and attention was taken up by aspen trees (Populus tremula). It was still the first half of October, and as aspen leaves change colour in autumn before most other trees, they were the most brilliant and spectacular trees on this day in Strathfarrar.
On the second day of my Treelay leg in May, I descended into Glen Strathfarrar down the Allt Innis na Larach Burn. On the lower reaches of the burn I passed by the eastern end of Inchvuilt Wood, a large area of native pinewood on the north-facing slopes of Strathfarrar that I had never visited before. I didn’t have time during the Treelay to wander around in the wood, but I was keen to explore what looked like a beautiful and interesting remnant of the Caledonian Forest, so on a sunny Saturday in early June I headed out there for the day. [Read more…] about A day in Inchvuilt Wood
I set out alone on the second day of my Treelay leg from our overnight campsite, near the Mullardoch dam in Glen Cannich, after my son Kevin had gone home. It was a much longer route than the first day, heading east initially in Glen Cannich, and then going over the hills to the north to Glen Strathfarrar. There, I’d have an extended walk to reach the rendezvous point at the end of my leg, at the entrance to the glen near Struy. [Read more…] about Two days on the Treelay, Part 2
On Saturday 5th May, our sponsored Treelay event began – two weeks of walking and cycling around our Project Area – the 1,000 square miles west of Inverness and Loch Ness where we’re working to restore the Caledonian Forest. The first leg on Saturday, from Dundreggan to the RSPB’s Corrimony Reserve, was walked by Fay Blackburn (long term Trees for Life supporter and volunteer group leader) and Jill Hodge, our Dundreggan Project Coordinator. The second leg, on Sunday, was from Corrimony to Coille Ruigh na Cuileige in Glen Affric – the site of our first significant project in 1990, when we paid for the fencing of 50 hectares (125 acres) of land for natural regeneration of the forest there. It was walked by Fay and Fiona Limbrey, the coordinator of our Millionth Tree events, and three guests on programmes at the Findhorn Foundation. [Read more…] about Two days on the Treelay, Part 1
Glen Strathfarrar is unusual amongst Scottish glens in that the road up into it is private, with a locked gate across it, which was closed for the winter, until March 31st. So, with Sunday being the 1st of April I decided to visit Strathfarrar again, for the first time since early November. [Read more…] about Back in Strathfarrar again
On Saturday I made another trip to Glen Strathfarrar, hoping to catch the last of the autumn colours at their best, as the birches had hardly started turning, during my previous visit, three weeks ago. Instead of going up the road in the main part of the glen as I usually do, I decided on impulse to go up a Hydro track on the north side instead. I had only been up in that part once, about 10 years ago, and had always wanted to return, so this seemed like a good time to do so. [Read more…] about More slime moulds & colourful lichens
On Sunday I spent the day in Glen Strathfarrar, which contains one of the least-known, but also one of the best large remnants, of the old native pinewoods of the Caledonian Forest. Situated two glens north of Affric, it is much less-visited than that more iconic site, which gained its National Nature Reserve in the same review that led Strathfarrar to lose its previous NNR status. However, the quality of the pinewood habitat in the two glens is comparable, and both are outstanding not only for their conservation value, but also for their scenic beauty.
Over the past 25 years I’ve visited Strathfarrar regularly, and although I’ve been there a couple of times in the past year to look at a potential forest regeneration project, it had been several years since my last dedicated photo trip to the glen. My main reason for going there now therefore was to photograph the autumn colours of the trees. [Read more…] about A day in Glen Strathfarrar