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Category Archives: In Scotland
In the Footsteps of Rob Roy
October is often a great month to visit Scotland and autumn 2015 was no exception, with fine settled conditions prevailing; effervescent morning mists dissolving away to leave clear skies and dramatic low angle sunlight. It was great to be back … Continue reading
Posted in History & Culture, In Scotland, Mountain Treks, Trees & Greenspaces, Wild Places
Tagged Aberfoyle, Balquidder, Callander, Clan MacClaren, Creag an Tuirc, Kirkton Glen, Leny Estate, Loch Doine, Loch Katrine, Loch Lomand and the Trossachs National Park, Loch Voil, native oakwoods, Rob Roy, Rob Roy's Cave, Robert the Bruce, Stirling, West Highland Way, Wild goats
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Range of Light
A week in Scotland at the end of August gave me the chance to revisit some old haunts around Stirling and the Trossachs. I am reminded that the light in Scotland is not quite like anywhere where else; a seemingly … Continue reading
New Life in Scotland’s Ancient Forests
On the banks of the River Tay by Dunkeld in Perthshire stands the ancient “Birnam Oak”, reputedly the sole surviving tree of the famed Birnam Wood of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In Shakespeare’s “Scottish” play, Malcolm’s soldiers camouflaged themselves with branches from Birnam Wood before capturing Macbeth’s stronghold … Continue reading
Posted in History & Culture, In Scotland, Trees & Greenspaces, Wild Places
Tagged ancient woodland, birch, Birnam Oak, Cairngorms, Caledonian Pine Woods, charcoal making, community woodlands, coppicing, Forest of Spey, forest schools, Glen Finglas, Glenmore Forest, Highland Birchwoods, highland clearances, Highlands, history, Loch Lomand and the Trossachs National Park, Loch Tay Woods, Macbeth, native woodlands, oak, Pass of Ryvoan, Perthshire, Scots pine, spirit of place, tanning industry, Trossachs, wood pasture, wood turning, Woodland Trust
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“Away With the Fairies” – The Legend of Doon Hill and Robert Kirk
As a child I spent many, happy summer Sundays sailing on my Dad’s boat at Loch Ard; a scenic forest-fringed loch, located in the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park within the Trossachs region of Scotland. In 2002, this area became part of Scotland’s first National Park, Loch Lomand and the Trossachs, … Continue reading
Posted in Family, History & Culture, In Scotland, Trees & Greenspaces, Wild Places
Tagged Aberfoyle, Atlantic oak woods, Bonnie Banks, clootie wells, clooties, Doon Hill, Elves, Fairies, Fauns and Fairies, heritage trees, In Scotland, legends, Loch Lomand and the Trossachs National Park, magic and mystery, nature, outdoors, Rev Robert Kirk, sacred groves, spirit of place, The Little People, Trossachs, Trossachs Trail, woodlands
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Caribbean Colours of Scotland’s Wild West
On my wall hangs a picture by Scottish landscape painter John Lowrie Morrison, showing a brilliant white shell sand beach washed by a sea of aquamarine and turquoise. Although almost childlike in character, the picture buzzes with latent energy, the brooding peaks of … Continue reading
Posted in History & Culture, In Scotland, Wild Places
Tagged aquamarine, Basalt, Book of Kells, Bottlenose Dolphins, Cadell, Carribean, Celtic Christianity, colours, Fingal's Cave, Giant's Causway, Inner Hebrides, Iona, Lords of the Isles, Mendelsohn's "Hebrides" overture, Mull, Peploe, Scotland, Scottish Colourists, Sir Walter Scott, St Columba, Staffa, turquoise
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The Bluebell Woods
One of the real treasures of the springtime in the British Isles must surely be when the bluebells carpet the floor of our ancient woods. Bluebells (or wild hyacinths) are a feature of woodlands which are virtually unknown in other … Continue reading
Posted in In Scotland, Trees & Greenspaces, Wild Places
Tagged ancient woods, Bluebells, coppice, Midlothian, oak woodlands, Skye, wild garlic, wild hyacinths, wood anemones
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Island Strongholds of Loch Awe
Another year and it occurs to me that it has been months since I last wrote a post for this blog; life has just got far too busy recently. It’s a dreich February evening and as usual at this time of year … Continue reading
Posted in Canoe Trips, History & Culture, In Scotland, Wild Places
Tagged Argyll, Ben Cruachan, canoe camping, castles, Clan Campbell, Innis Chonnel, island burial sites, kayaking, Loch Awe, West Highlands
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“Scotland: Landscapes and Legends”
For anyone in Aachen and surrounding area; I’ll be making a presentation at the Volkshochschule in Stolberg on the 16th May entitled “Scotland: Landscapes and Legends”. I’ll be talking about exploring Scotland’s wild landscapes on foot and by canoe (including many of the locations mentioned on … Continue reading
Posted in History & Culture, In Europe, In Scotland, Mountain Treks, Wild Places
Tagged Canoe Trips, Highlands, mountains, nature, outdoors, Scottish History, sea kayaking, spirit of place, walking
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Tummel and Tay: Exploring Scotland by Canadian Canoe
In an age dominated by road transport, most journeys these days involve jumping into the car. This was not however always the case; for our ancestors rivers and lochs formed the main communication routes through the landscape. On the River Tay in Perthshire, for example, log … Continue reading
Posted in Canoe Trips, History & Culture, In Scotland, Wild Places
Tagged Aberfeldy, autumn colours, Big Tree Country, Canadian Canoeing, Canoe Trips, Dunkeld, Highland Perthshire, Highlands, history, In Scotland, Kenmore, Killin, Loch Faskally, Loch Tay, Loch Tummel, mountains, nature, outdoors, wellbeing
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Greening Urban Scotland: the Lothians and Fife Green Network
One of the biggest and most interesting challenges that I’ve had in recent years has been the development of the Lothians and Fife Green Network Partnership (LFGNP). I was involved in the setting up of this project from its inception in 2008 (initially as the … Continue reading
Posted in Current Affairs, In Scotland, Trees & Greenspaces
Tagged Central Scotland Green Network, CSGN, Edinburgh and the Lothians, environmental education, Forest Habitat Networks, Green Networks, LFGNP, Lothians and Fife Green Network Partnership, nature, sustainable development, Urban Forestry, Urban Greenspace, wellbeing, woodlands
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Off the Beaten Track 