ECOLOGIST, NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER AND INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER
FOUNDER OF THE AWARD-WINNING CHARITY TREES FOR LIFE
Autumn is my favourite season in the Caledonian Forest and each year I like to spend some time camping out in one or more of the best woodland areas to make the most of the opportunities that the colour change of the leaves offers for photography. Thus it was that in mid-October I went to Glen Affric for a couple of days, hoping to catch the autumn colours at their best. [Read more…] about Autumn extravaganza in Glen Affric, part 1
In the middle of August I had planned a trip out to Glen Affric one Sunday for one of my bi-annual photographic visits to the Coille Ruigh na Cuileige exclosure there. That was the first fenced area we protected in partnership with Forestry Commission Scotland back in 1990, and every two years since then I’ve been taking some fixed point photography of selected trees there, to visually document the changes as natural regeneration takes place, in the absence of overgrazing by red deer (Cervus elaphus). [Read more…] about A wild and wet day in Glen Affric
After spending a couple of hours at the oak tree (Quercus petraea) and young hazel (Corylus avellana) near Badger Falls in Glen Affric in early July, which I wrote about in the first part of this blog, I headed further west to Dog Falls, where the footpath to Coire Loch begins. Before setting out to walk to the loch though, I spent some time looking around the area near the falls themselves – in previous years I’ve found quite a lot of interest in a small clearing there. [Read more…] about The way to Coire Loch, part 2
I wrote a blog recently about a day in Glen Affric in early June, when I was suffering from sciatica in my leg, which limited my mobility. Unfortunately, the sciatica got worse after that, so I wasn’t able to make any more trips out to the Caledonian Forest for a couple of weeks. By 6th July, I was feeling somewhat better again, so I decided to return to Glen Affric, with the goal of walking from the Dog Falls area to Coire Loch, to give my leg a gentle work-out, as I’d been encouraged to exercise as part of the recovery process. [Read more…] about The way to Coire Loch, part 1
On Sunday 8th June, after spending more than two hours with an oak tree (Quercus petraea) and a young hazel (Corylus avellana) beside the road at the eastern end of Glen Affric, just above Badger Falls (see Part 1 of this blog), I drove a little further into the glen. As I often do, I stopped near Dog Falls, as I wanted to look at some aspen trees (Populus tremula) that are growing beside the road there, just at the falls themselves. [Read more…] about Early summer in Glen Affric, part 2
On the 8th of June I went out to Glen Affric for a gentle day of photography. I’d been suffering from sciatica in one of my legs recently, so I wasn’t very mobile, but the advice I’d received was that exercise is good for the condition. My plan therefore was to see if I could find some good subjects for photography along the roadside in the glen, so that I wouldn’t have to walk too far. I reasoned that this would avoid putting undue stress on my leg, while at the same time enabling me to fulfil my creative desires with the camera. [Read more…] about Early summer in Glen Affric, part 1
On Sunday 16th March I had my first opportunity for a couple of weeks to spend a day out with my camera, taking photographs in the Caledonian Forest. I was undecided where to go, so I headed out from my home at Findhorn uncertain as to my destination. However, I had the intention of trusting my intuition to lead me to a place where I’d have an enjoyable day, and where I would gain the satisfaction of being creative with my photography. [Read more…] about A rainbow day in Glen Affric
In late October I spent a couple of days in Glen Affric, as I do most years, to photograph the autumn colours of the trees there when they’re at their peak. The weather forecast for the day seemed ideal for me – it was predicted to be a wind-still, overcast day with morning mist and fog – so I made an early start from home, arriving in the glen just as it was getting fully light. On my way past the village of Cannich, in upper Strathglass, there had been a lot of low-lying fog. I knew from past experience that as the day warmed slightly, this would most likely rise up out of the strath and move into the eastern end Glen Affric, where the River Affric discharges through a narrow gorge into Strathglass itself. [Read more…] about Colourful autumn day in Glen Affric, part 1
At the end of June I went up to Glen Affric for the day, intending to visit Glac Daraich, the site of the third fenced exclosure in the glen that we funded in partnership with Forestry Commission Scotland, back in 1993. However, it was one of those days when I decided to stop for a quick look at the forest near Dog Falls on the way into the glen, and I ended up spending the whole day there never making it to my destination … [Read more…] about A day at Dog Falls
On 30th April I went out with my colleagues Jill Hodge and Abbey Goff to West Affric, to collect cuttings of tea-leaved willow (Salix phylicifolia) for propagation in our tree nursery at Dundreggan. This would be the first such collection of this species from the area for us, and we’d been trying to find a mutually convenient date for several weeks, before finally settling on this one. Jill and Abbey live near Tomich and in Cannich respectively, so we arranged to meet at Dog Falls and go together westwards from there in one vehicle. [Read more…] about Willow cuttings expedition to West Affric