Miscellaneous

Over the years I’ve visited many of the old native pinewoods that are remnants of the original Caledonian Forest, which formerly covered much of the Highlands. However, I’d never been to the most westerly of those pinewood areas, at Shieldaig in Wester Ross, so at the beginning of August I decided to rectify this omission. Earlier in the summer, when I’d been visiting the nearby Ben Damph Estate, I’d come as far as the village of Shieldaig, but hadn’t made it to the pinewood itself then. [Read more…] about A visit to Scotland’s most westerly pinewood

In late May, we organised a trip for seven Trees for Life staff, plus eight other people from Scottish conservation organisations (including one of our board members) to southwest Norway. We flew over to Stavanger and were met there by Duncan Halley, a Scotsman who has lived in Norway for about 20 years, working for NINA, the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, and who had very generously offered to be our guide for the week we’d be there.

[Read more…] about Study tour to Norway: Part 1 – Fidjadalen

In between Christmas and New Year we had some cold frosty days, coming on the heels of a recent snowfall, so I took the opportunity of spendng a day out in an area of native woodland in the Spey River Valley, just to the north of Aviemore. I’d passed by there the day before, on my way to Aviemore with my partner Pupak and her mother to do some shopping, and I’d seen that some small areas had been experienced freezing fog, coating all the trees in a thick layer of hoar frost, and it was that which had drawn me back for a day of photography.

[Read more…] about The frozen forest

The Barrach Wood is a small native  Caledonian Forest pinewood remnant at Cougie, to the south of Loch Beinn a’Mheadhoin in Glen Affric, in the upper part of the River Glass catchment. As such, it is located in between Glen Affric and Glenmoriston, to the northwest of Dundreggan. Despite its proximity to one of the places I spend the most time in – Glen Affic – and the fact that I’ve passed it by at various times over the years, I’d never actually taken the time to explore the Barrach Wood before. [Read more…] about A day in the Barrach Wood

Every year in October, I set aside two weekends to go out camping in the Caledonian Forest, to make the most of the opportunities to photograph the autumn colours of the trees. It’s my favourite time of year to be in the forest, especially as there are often wind-still mornings with mist or fog, which provide a wonderful atmospheric ambience to the landscapes. [Read more…] about Tranquil autumn morning at Loch Achilty