JOHN MUIR TRUST

JOURNAL53 autumn 12

10 Our new approach tofootpath management

14 How legacies help makethe Trust’s work possible

20 The debate on children’sdislocation from nature

A certain sun.The wild flowers have passed on. The greens are changing.Soon the trees will be bare and winter chills will pass throughthem. Here at the Trust, our habitat monitoring has just finishedbut we don’t go into hibernation. Our work to protect wild landgoes on, as constant as the dawns and dusks, as essential as thelow winter sun.

If you care about our natural world, please joinus@jmt.orgOr call 01796 470080 and ask about membership

CONTENTS 03

R E G U L A R S

04 Foreword from the chief executive

06 News round-up

23 Testimonial: Mountain Equipment

32 Classic textsThe Living Forest, HL Edlin

33 Book reviewsThe Old Ways, Robert Macfarlane; The Natural Explorer, Tristan Gooley;An Teallach, The Forge, Lesley Timings with Geoffrey Covell

34 Property snapshot: Sandwood

F E AT U R E S

10 Preventative actionAlan McCombes learns about the Trust’s new approach to footpathmanagement – and the considerable skill involved in path repair work

14 Making a differenceAdam Pinder explains the vital role of legacies in the protection and regeneration of our most beautiful landscapes and habitat

17 Corridors of powerSheila Wren, the Trust’s new advocacy officer, is charged with ensuring that the Trust’s voice is heard in the very heart of Westminster

18 Two of a kind Jamie Grant heads to Skye to learn about plans to commemorate two pioneering explorers of the Cuillin

20 Children in natureA recent report by the National Trust on children’s dislocation from nature continues to generate much debate, explains Rob Bushby

24 Inspiring livesKim McIntosh explores how the life of a Scottish mountaineering legendhelped a group of adult students prepare for university education

28 Wild land, wild woods Mike Daniels recently visited Slovenia and couldn’t help but be struck by the country’s different approach to conserving its native woodland

J O U R NA L 5 3 , AU T U M N 1 2Editor: Richard RoweManaging editor: Susan Wright

Design and production: Various Creativewww.various.uk.comThis Journal is printed on Revive 100 Uncoatedstock, a recycled grade paper containing 100%post-consumer waste and manufactured at a mill accredited with ISO 14001 environmentalmanagement standard. The pulp used in thisproduct is bleached using an Elemental ChlorineFree (ECF) process. We use a Scottish printer,Thomson Colour, who have excellent environmentalcredentials, achieving environmental standardISO 4001 in 2006 and the FSC and PEFCstandards in 2006. If you would rather receive your publicationsfrom the John Muir Trust electronically, pleaseemail membership@jmt.orgThe John Muir Trust is a Scottish charitablecompany limited by guarantee. Registered office:Tower House, Station Road, Pitlochry PH16 5ANCharity No. SC002061Company No. SC081620

P I T L O C H RY O F F I C EJohn Muir Trust Tower House, Station Road, Pitlochry PH16 5ANtelephone: 01796 470 080fax: 01796 473 514

L E I T H O F F I C EJohn Muir Trust 41 Commercial Street, Edinburgh EH6 6JD telephone: 0131 554 0114fax: 0131 555 2112

www.jmt.orgjournal@jmt.org

Cover photographyOn the edge of Strathaird looking across LochCoruisk to the Black Cuillin on Skye© DAVID LINTERN

Inside front cover photographyRed dawn on Beinn Dearg Mor from across Loch Slapin© KEITH BRAME

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FOREWORD04 Highlighting theTrust’s varied work

JOHN MUIR TRUST JOURNALAUTUMN 2012

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From the chief executiveStuart Brooks introduces an issue of the Journal that celebratesand gives thanks to the generosity of so many members pastand present

W E L C O M E T O T H E autumn edition ofthe John Muir Trust Journal. I hope thatsome of you are picking up this Journalfor the first time, perhaps by chance,because it’s been passed onto you by afriend, or you are a new Trust member.

As with every issue of the Journal, wehave covered a wide range of issues thatreflect the many different aspects of ourwork. Many of you will have seen ourrecent appeal for funds to help repair thefootpath through the Steall Gorge at GlenNevis. It has been a huge success and wenow have the funds for much-neededwork on the ground to ensure thatvisitors can experience a safe andenjoyable walk through this lovely glen.In this edition, we introduce the Trust’snew approach to maintaining footpathsgenerally, as well as exploring theconsiderable challenges of maintainingfootpaths, often in remote locations,across some of the most difficult terrainthis country has to offer (see p10).

This thought is very much alive in an article looking at how the life andachievements of Tom Weir inspired agroup of adult learners to undertake a John Muir Discovery Award as part oftheir journey towards university education(p24). This issue also carries a wonderfultale (p18) from the Sconser communityon Skye who are celebrating the life and achievements of a local hero andman of the mountains, John Mackenzie.Together with Norman Collie, the pairbecame celebrated pioneer explorers of the Cuillin.

Elsewhere, we explore the debate on the relationship between nature and ourchildren’s health and wellbeing, and alsotravel to Slovenia to learn how one of ourEuropean counterparts approaches thecare of its wild places.

To members old and new – enjoy theJournal.

Stuart Brookschief executive john muir trust

Picture perfect (left to right from opposite):Steall Falls, one of the many joys of a walkthrough Glen Nevis; an autumnal close-upon Oldshoremore beach, Sandwood;schoolchildren cross the Telford bridge towork on the Skye sculpture gateway project

The success of the Steall Gorge footpathappeal serves to underline the generosityof our members. We receive supportfrom many different sources and one of the most important is from legacies.These particularly personal donationsare always accepted with immensegratitude as well as respect and sadnessfor someone’s loss. We carry a hugeresponsibility, ensuring that people’swishes are carried out and that funds so generously donated are spent wisely(p14). Providing a long-term legacy in the guardianship of our wild places,beloved by so many people, can, I hope, provide some comfort to family and friends.

I would like to thank our many supporters,throughout the history of the Trust, forpromoting us and encouraging others to remember the Trust in their wills. The Trust today is to a great extent theproduct of the ambition and efforts ofour predecessors.

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NEWS06 JOHN MUIR TRUST JOURNALAUTUMN 2012

REVISITING SCOTLAND’SLANDSCAPE NEEDS

A half-century on from a ground-breakingconference that examined the state ofScotland’s landscapes, a follow-up eventin November will consider the future forthe nation’s countryside. The originalconference, in 1962, concentrated on keyissues of the day such as the impact ofmotorway development and expansion ofcommercial forestry, with the discussionsthat followed leading to the creation ofthe Countryside Commission for Scotland,now Scottish Natural Heritage. This year’s event, Landscape Policy &Implementation in Scotland, ‘Fifty YearsOn’ 1962–2012–2062 will examine whathas been achieved in Scottish landscapepolicy since then and look ahead to thechanges that the landscape will have to contend with over the next 50 years.Held on 27–28 November at PerthConcert Hall, the conference will bringtogether a range of experts in the past,present and future of Scotland’slandscape.“Scotland’s landscapes are a keynational asset and make a massivecontribution to the quality of life andeconomic livelihoods of Scotland’speople,” commented conferenceorganiser William Cairns. “In the sixties and seventies, the nation’s

landscapes were under growing and uncharted pressures from newdevelopments – such as mass house-building, motorways, reservoir and oiland gas developments – together withsignificant changes to agriculture andthe wider economy of rural areas. Manyof these issues remain relevant today.There are also new challenges frommeeting renewable energy and newforestry targets, growing Scotland’sreputation as a leading outdoor tourismdestination, and improving the healthand economy of our largest towns and cities.”The John Muir Trust is one of severalsupporting partners for the event – a gathering that Trust chief executiveStuart Brooks feels will be both timelyand immensely valuable. “I am delightedthat the Trust is supporting thisconference which comes at a time when the nation really does need toconsider the future and value of itslandscape,” he said. “There is no doubt we are in a period ofunprecedented change and the decisionswe take today will leave a legacy forfuture generations. I will ensure that the voice of the Trust is heard and thedecisions and policies influenced by theoutcome of this conference will recognisethe need to protect our most valuablewild landscapes. Whilst people aretalking, there is still hope.”> www.landscapescotland2012.com

CALL TREE NURSERY TO OPEN The new tree nursery at Little Assynt willhave its official opening on 5 October.Established as part of the Coigach-AssyntLiving Landscape (CALL) project, of whichthe Trust is a partner, the tree nursery isa major step forward for this ambitiousconservation land management project. One of CALL’s aims is to increase thearea of native woodland in the region.The nursery is part of a wider effort toimprove habitat conditions throughoutthe area and reconnect fragmentedhabitats. The nursery will provide areliable supply of native trees, grownfrom locally collected seed. CALL treenursery manager, Nick Clooney, will lead on these collections with help from members of the community. The nursery also meets another ofCALL’s aims – to establish skilled ruraljobs. To date, two posts have beencreated, with more planned.The tree nursery launch event is open toall and will be attended by representativesof Forestry Commission Scotland andScottish Natural Heritage, as well aslocal MSPs and Highland councillors whohave shown support, funders who haveenabled it to happen and local people. For more information, contact CALLproject manager Viv Halcrow atvhalcrow@coigach-assynt.orgViv has also compiled a First Year Reviewof the CALL project, which is available onrequest.

Views from Clachtoll, near Lochinver,Sutherland

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NEWS 07

During his visit, Stuart also met thechair and staff of the North Harris Trust,another community land owner workingclosely with the Trust. Through MickBlunt, our manager in the Western Isles,the John Muir Trust has forged a strongrelationship with the community inHarris, including involvement in theannual Isle of Harris Mountain Festival. “These trusts provide excellent examplesof where the John Muir Trust is workingwith communities within a frameworkthat respects the integrity of the wildland,” commented Stuart. “Both trusts have clear economic as well as environmental objectives – and so far they are managing to balance the various interests very well.”Murdo MacKay, chairman of the WestHarris Trust, said: “West Harris Trustwelcomes this agreement that secures a close working relationship with theJohn Muir Trust. We look forward toworking closely with Mick over thecoming years as we progress with ourplans for the sustainable development of the estate.”Earlier in August, the Trust signed asimilar agreement at the summit ofSchiehallion with the neighbouringKynachan Estate, whose holistic approachto land management includes addressingsocial and environmental matters, andpromoting biodiversity and scenic beauty.The partnership is based on similarprinciples to the West Harris Trustagreement, with additional elementsincluding deer and sheep management,forestry replanting, and reducing theimpact of ATVs.

TRUST SIGNS TWO NEWPARTNERSHIPS

The Trust recently signed two newpartnerships – one with the West HarrisTrust and one with the Kynachan Estateadjacent to Schiehallion – that will see close cooperation on a variety ofconservation and land managementissues. The partnership with the West HarrisTrust, a community landowner whichmanages 6,400 hectares on the westside of South Harris, was formallysealed during a two-day visit to theisland by John Muir Trust chief executiveStuart Brooks in August. The agreementsees the John Muir Trust provide advicein areas such as conservation, ecology,land and visitor management; assist withfunding applications for conservation-related projects; support those wishingto undertake the John Muir Award; andpromote the work and ethos of the West Harris Trust to Trust members and other bodies.In turn, the West Harris Trust will helpidentify and map the core areas of wildland on its estate; manage these areas inline with the John Muir Trust’s Wild LandManagement Standards, where feasible;keep the Trust informed of conservation,visitor access and interpretation work on the estate; and providereciprocal promotion.

Jeremy Robinson, who owns Kynachan,said that although the estate will continueto be based principally on grouse, deer,sheep and cattle, it will now be run witha far greater focus on sustainable wildland management. “Landowners cannotlive in a vacuum and looking after ourwild places is a subject of national if not international importance, so should not simply be the business of individuals,” he said. “The challenge is to manage our land in a moresensitive and intelligent manner whilebeing open to wider professional viewsand different perspectives.”

Trust chief executive Stuart Brooks (left)and Jeremy Robinson, owner of KynachanEstate, shake hands on the newpartnership on the summit ofSchiehallion

FRIENDS OF WEST HARRISThe west side of Harris is a special place for many who have visited the areaor who have a historical family link. TheWest Harris Trust has therefore foundedFriends of West Harris to enable thosewith an interest to work with the Trust tobuild a sustainable community, capableof taking care of this beautiful place forgenerations to come.Friends’ subscriptions will enableactivities and projects to take place that would otherwise not be achievable.As well as supporting a sustainablefuture with one of the John Muir Trust’spartners, friends will receive regularnewsletters and invitations to specialcommunity events.For further information, contact the trust office. Tel 01859 520785, oradmin@westharristrust.org

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NEWS08 JOHN MUIR TRUST JOURNALAUTUMN 2012

FUNDING PLEDGE FORCONTRASTING LANDSCAPES

In July, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)announced its first step of approval foralmost £4 million of funding towardslandscape-scale conservation initiativesfor two very different Scottish landscapes– Ben Nevis and the Inner Forth. Bothare earmarked to receive almost £1.9 million each. This significant funding pledge is part ofthe HLF’s Landscape Partnership Scheme– a programme that helps forge publicand community partnerships in order totackle the environmental needs of thelocal landscape. Funding for the Nevis LandscapePartnership, which will be received bythe now revived Nevis Partnership, willgo toward improving the path network on the UK’s highest mountain, an areacurrently visited by around 200,000walkers each year. The upper reaches of the original ‘pony track’ – built byhand over 100 years ago and now badly eroded – will be restored; a 6kmriverside path will be created to link with existing forest tracks and provideall-ability access to the landscape; and the now overgrown Polldubh Crags,significant in Scotland’s climbing history,will be restored and its fauna and florasurveyed. Local communities and schoolswill be involved through events andtraining projects, film and social media.

“We are delighted with this endorsementof the Nevis area, which will allow localsand visitors alike to become involved in a wide range of heritage projects inthis important international location,”commented Patricia Jordan, chair ofNevis Partnership. “We are also verypleased that the Heritage Lottery Fund has recognised the considerableachievements of the Nevis Partnership,which will now be widened to includeother interest groups and organisations.”The Inner Forth Landscape Initiative,meanwhile, covers the upper reaches of the Firth of Forth, from the river’smeanders across the Stirling floodplainto the tidal flats of the estuary toBlackness Castle. Recognising that the natural and historic heritage of theriver and estuary is overshadowed by its industrial character, the LandscapePartnership aims to reconnect people withthe Forth to help change perceptions andrekindle community pride. The initiativewill see a new network of linked pathsand cycle routes that will make it easierto enjoy the landscape, while fragmentedpockets of wetland and woodland will beconnected to support biodiversity.> www.hlf.org.uk; www.nevispartnership.co.uk

TRUST RECEIVES LAKE DISTRICTADVENTURE FUNDING

Following funding from the Institute for Outdoor Learning, the Trust is nowable to support groups in Carlisle, WestCumbria and Barrow to create newopportunities for enjoying outdooradventures. Up to 10 groups of young people, agedbetween 12 and 21, will be supported toexplore, connect with and care for theirlocal countryside and the wider LakeDistrict National Park. They will have the chance to achieve their own JohnMuir Award and to explore the LakeDistrict through adventurous activities.“We want to encourage people on thewestern edge of Cumbria to broadentheir horizons by providing assistancewith activity instruction or travel to visit the National Park, or to help themdesign a programme of activities and to submit a John Muir Award Proposal,”commented Graham Watson, the Award’sregional manager for Cumbria. “Discovering a wild place could takeyoung people to a hidden gem on theCumbrian coast, across a lake by canoeor up a mountain in the Lake District.The possibilities are many and varied.”Funding and support will be tailored tothe needs of each group, but is limited –so act fast. For more information,contact cumbria@johnmuiraward.org

THANKS TO DAVIDDavid Stevenson stood down as the Boardof Trustee’s minute taker in September.David has been taking the minutes atboard meetings on a voluntary basis foreight years. In recognition of this valuableservice, the board presented him withTiso vouchers, a pitcher of Ben Neviswhisky and two engraved glasses. John Hutchison, chair of the Trust said:“David’s experience and contribution has been hugely appreciated over theyears and particularly during the recentgovernance review. We owe him a greatthanks and hope he’ll enjoy his newfound spare time.”

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Ben Nevis in all its glory

David Stevenson (right) is presented withone of his gifts by John Hutchison

NEWS 09

HAVE YOUR SAY ON NATURECONSERVATION

Those looking to influence the futuredirection of nature conservation, or who would just like to have their say, can contribute to an online survey aspart of a collaborative research projectorganised by Common Cause togetherwith more than a dozen conservationorganisations. The John Muir Trust willcontribute to the project through theJohn Muir Award. The survey involves eight questions thatexplore the future role and direction ofnature conservation bodies. Dependingon the level of detail for each response,the full survey should take between five and 20 minutes to complete. Theresponses will be fed into a report due to be published in 2013.> Take the survey at www.bit.ly/OrRyqI

FANTASTIC RESPONSE TO STEALLGORGE APPEAL

Thanks to the generosity of funders and supporters, the Trust’s recent SteallGorge footpath appeal has exceededexpectations and brought in more thanenough to cover essential repairs to thepath. Work will begin in November torestore a route that WH Murray called“the best short walk in Britain”.While the Trust can no longer acceptdonations for the Steall Gorge footpathrepair, those keen to show their supportcan still make a donation towards ourgeneral path fund which goes towardsmaintaining and repairing paths acrossTrust properties (see article on page 10). To make a donation, please contact theTrust’s fundraising team on 0131 554 0114.

STRONGER TOGETHERThe John Muir Trust recently issued a jointpress release with the MountaineeringCouncil of Scotland (MCofS) opposingSSE’s recent proposal for an 83-turbinewind farm at Stronelairg in the wild andbeautiful Monadhliath mountain range.The proposed development would cover35 square kilometres of uplands close to Fort Augustus and the Great Glen, and would be clearly visible from many locations in the CairngormsNational Park.Stuart Brooks, Trust chief executive,said: “In the absence of a coherentenergy strategy and adequate protectionfor Scotland’s landscapes, we are left to fight these battles on the front line at huge costs to everyone involved.These places are special because theyare wild and beautiful. People’s jobs, thetourist industry and our wildlife dependon them. Once we industrialise wild landwe change its character forever.”Separately, the British MountaineeringCouncil (BMC) recently announced itsbacking for the MCofS ‘manifesto’ onwind farms which calls for a moratoriumon further developments in key uplandareas, especially on and around Scotland’sMunros and Corbetts. The MCoS manifesto also seeks urgentaction to create a Scottish national spatialrenewables policy to harmonise cleanenergy generation with landscapeprotection.

“Climbers and hill walkers all over Scotland, and the UK, are deeplyconcerned about the growing number ofhighly unsuitable planning applicationsbeing made to build huge commercialwind farms in Scotland’s most sensitiveand beautiful mountain landscapes,”commented David Gibson, MCofS chiefofficer. “We are not opposed to windfarms; we are in favour of conservingour mountains. We are calling on theScottish Government to work with those who care about the environment to create a clear policy on what will be permitted and where. “Current measures, including their [theGovernment’s] new good practice guide,are ineffectual responses to an issuewith huge implications for our naturalheritage, our wildlife and tourismindustries,” he added. Dave Turnbull, BMC chief executive,said: “Our members and many overseasclimbers have always regarded Scotland’smountains as an important destinationof choice, offering year-round challengesfor hill walkers and climbers. We arebacking the MCofS manifesto becausewe believe that the mountains must beprotected for future generations to enjoy– not just mountaineers but all thosewho enjoy the landscape.”> www.mcofs.org.uk/lps.asp

AGM & MEMBERS’ GATHERING2013

The 2013 John Muir Trust AGM &Members’ Gathering will be held at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre over theweekend 3–5 May. Full booking detailswill be included in the January Members’News. If planning to attend, you maywant to consider booking accommodationin the area as soon as possible.

Work can now begin on restoring theSteall Gorge footpath

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CONSERVATION10 Highlighting a new approach to footpathmanagement

PreventativeactionAlan McCombes catches up with footpathproject officer, Chris Goodman, to learn about the Trust’s new approach to footpathmanagement – and the considerable skillinvolved in path repair work

JOHN MUIR TRUST JOURNALAUTUMN 2012

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M O S T O F U S W H O L OVE to trampour lonelier landscapes don’t usually paytoo much attention to the path under ourfeet, except when it disappears under aveil of freshly fallen snow or hides behinda curtain of mist. Only then do we startto appreciate the value of the brown and grey ribbon that meanders itsunassuming way across the hillside.Some of us prefer to get off the beatentrack, but for those who are not alwaysconfident with their navigation, thefootpath is the road to freedom, solitude and adventure.

Rural Britain has 250,000 kilometres of footpaths – enough to stretch halfwayto the moon. The history of this tanglednetwork is as diverse as the landscape it criss-crosses. Some of the familiarfootpaths we walk on today began ascoffin roads – or corpse roads – alongwhich mourners would carry their deadfrom scattered hamlets to ancestral burialgrounds. Others began as drove roads,stalkers’ paths, or as secret smugglerroutes up into remote hillsides, whereillegal stills could safely be concealedfrom the excisemen.

Some famous mountain routes –including the Devil’s Staircase near Glen Coe, the Corrieyairack Pass throughthe Monadhliath Mountains and parts of the West Highland Way – evolved from old military roads built by GeneralWade and his successors to subdue the Highland clans after the Jacobiteuprisings. The Highlands also had amore informal network of paths up toshielings – the clusters of rough, stoneshelters on upland summer grazingpastures where women and childrenwould live temporarily while tendingtheir cattle and goats.

Other footpaths were carved out for thespecific purpose of opening up access tothe mountain tops. The main route up toBen Nevis, for example, was designed in1883 as a bridle path for ponies to carrymaterials to the summit while the oldmeteorological observatory was beingconstructed. For 21 years, the PonyTrack, as it’s still known, was a crucialcorridor linking the observatory with the world far below.

W E A R I N G T H I NFor many centuries, upland trails could be left untended, with little needfor human intervention. But in recentdecades, as the numbers taking to thehills have surged, a new breed of artisanhas emerged to combine some of the oldpath-building skills with new techniques.Chris Goodman, our new footpathproject officer, has worked on Scotland’smountain footpaths for the past decadewith a range of organisations beforejoining the Trust earlier this year.

Chris traces the beginnings of systematicfootpath repair and maintenance toresearch carried out in the early 1980s by Bob Aitken, a former trustee of theJohn Muir Trust, backed by the thenCountryside Commission for Scotland.He investigated erosion on a sample of hill paths using aerial photographsfrom the past for comparison.

“Bob found that damage to paths wasaccelerating as the hills were becomingmore accessible and popular,” explainsChris. “His survey then led to a project totest and develop techniques and methodsof working to tackle the problem. Manyof the key skills have been around for along time and were used, for example, to maintain old stalkers’ paths.”

Older, built paths tend to be more robust than the newer, unplanned pathsthat have evolved in recent decades as a result of habitual use by hill walkers.These more spontaneous trails are oftenpoorly aligned and more susceptible to water erosion.

“When the path becomes boggy or rocky, people begin to walk to either sideof the path, creating tramlines that runparallel with the path,” says Chris. “Thisis known as braiding, and eventually thelines merge to create a wider track thatdisfigures the landscape. In some cases,this can destroy vegetation and disrupthabitats. Some popular mountain paths,including on Ben Lomond and in parts of the Cairngorms, grew to more than 20 metres wide in stretches.”

The state of Schiehallion in Perthshirewas even worse. Chris traces the problemback to the 1970s when the ForestryCommission opened a new car park atthe foot of one of the four routes up themountain – a move that saw the majorityof walkers converge on a single route up the hill. By the late 1990s, stretches ofthe main path had spread outwards untilthey were more than 30 metres wide. Italso suffered from scouring (erosion ofthe surface by fast running water) andeven gullying (deeper erosion which

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Step by step: the Steall Gorgefootpath is a priority for repair(opposite); Chris Goodman willoversee the Trust's wider footpathmanagement (top)

> continued

we want to bring everystretch offootpath on trust property up to a wild land standard

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Taking the strain (clockwise from above); a sectionof eroded path on Sail Garbh, Quinag; ThomasHarper, a trainee from the Cairngorms OutdoorAccess Trust, on a path earmarked for repair on Bla Bheinn, Skye; heading through the SteallGorge; walkers on the new Schiehallion path

TOOLS OF THE TRADEFootpath repair work involves the use ofa variety of drainage and erosion features:

Culvert – a funnel that carries a streamunderneath a path and looks like aminiature stone bridge

Cross-drain – this has the same functionas a culvert, but is open rather thancovered. It resembles a tiny canal cuttingacross a footpath, hemmed in by anarrow, two-sided stone channel

Waterbar – a single line of stone, placedevery 25 to 30 metres on steady uphillgradients, designed to divert water offthe path as it trickles downhill in wetweather

Revetment – a retaining structure,usually built of stone, designed to shoreup the edges of a footpath where there is a risk that it could collapse

OUR FOOTPATH FUNDERS Footpath repair and maintenance is an expensive business and is only madepossible through the generosity of Trustsupporters. Thank you to everyone whohas made a donation over the yearstowards our footpath work.

The Trust is especially grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund, ScottishMountaineering Trust, Brown ForbesMemorial Fund and Scottish NaturalHeritage for their financial support.

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carves out a ditch or channel). The FairyHill of Caledonia was left with a gapingscar that was visible for miles around.

The condition of the footpath helped convince the Trust to take overSchiehallion and embark on a five-yearproject to repair the damage. “The pathwas realigned to create a more gradualand continual gradient, and reroutedonto more robust ground to prevent it becoming muddy and waterlogged,”explains Chris. “Over time, the woundbegan to heal. The path now blendsmore naturally into the surroundinghillside.”

Chris insists that his role is not to makelife easier, or even safer, for hill walkers.Like John Muir, he personally likes toexplore the mountains beyond the beatentrack, alone with the sigh of the wind andthe call of the ptarmigan. Individualsroaming free on the mountains pose aminimal threat to habitats; the seriousdamage is done when large numbers of people walk alongside eroded paths.

Where major repairs are required, Chriswill bring in professional contractors,who usually work in teams of three tofour. This involves hard, physical labour,often on exposed mountainsides and in treacherous weather. It also demandsa high level of skill and expertise. Chrisestimates that it takes around two yearsof full-time work to master the trade:

“It’s not the sort of thing you can learnfrom a textbook,” he comments. “Youneed a feel for the natural environmentand knowledge of the terrain and geology.And you need a three-dimensional eye tosee which materials are suitable, whichstones will fit together, and how to keepit all both tidy and natural. It’s halfscience, half art.”

P R I O R I T Y P R O JE C T SMajor projects now underway includethe completion of repair work on theSandwood Bay footpath and the start of major restoration work at Steall Gorgein Glen Nevis. The latter will includeresurfacing and rebuilding stretches ofthe path, as well as building and repairingcross-drains, waterbars, ditches andrevetments (see sidebar opposite for an explanation of terms).

Overall, the Trust is striving to move awayfrom expensive and intrusive restorationwork towards a more sensitive, pre-emptive approach. Instead of waitinguntil the damage has been done, theinstallation of a cross-drain, for example,can prevent long stretches of path frombeing eroded. But before that can begin,Chris has to survey every metre offootpath on Trust properties, calculatehow many kilometres they cover, andassess what work needs to be done.

It’s a big task, but a necessary one. “Wewant to bring every stretch of footpath onTrust property up to a wild land standard,”explains Chris. “In other words, reducetheir visual impact on the landscape and,as far as possible, make them look likenaturalised, evolved hill paths.”

Chris’s work involves surveying paths,budgeting and overseeing contracts. Theaim is to develop an in-house team, anda trained group of volunteers for hands-on maintenance work. Chris is also takingon apprentices to train them in the art of sensitive upland path maintenance.He pays tribute to the crucial workcarried out by volunteer work parties.“They may not have professional expertise,but they do essential work like clearingout waterbars and cross-drains. We hadone hardy work party in Knoydart in Aprilwho put in four culverts and resurfaced asection of the path that had been washedout. For days and nights on end, theycamped wild and took whatever theweather threw at them. Working on paths is not for the faint-hearted.”

About the authorAlan McCombes is the Trust’s CommunicationsEditor. He can be contacted atalan.mccombes@jmt.org

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LEGACIES14 A vital contribution to the Trust’s work

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, the Trust has become a powerful force forconservation whose work will endure forcenturies to come. Adam Pinder explains the vital role of legacies in the protection and regeneration of our most beautifullandscapes and habitats

Making adifference

JOHN MUIR TRUST JOURNALAUTUMN 2012

S I M O N G E R S H O N H A S A LWAY S loved wild land, but heonly joined the Trust in April this year. Since then, he has becomeactively involved in our work. He became a life member, joinedour conservation work parties and has now chosen to mentionthe John Muir Trust in his will.

No-one would ever take such a decision lightly, but Simonwants to make a commitment to the land that will last farbeyond his own lifetime. He says: “I was not inclined to leavemore to my family and friends than I thought would actually be valuable to them. As Thoreau said, ‘Superfluous money just buys superfluities’. I wanted the remainder to achieve some good in the world, as far as it can. And, if possible, goodthat will last, through a suitable organisation one can trust.”

Legacy gifts have allowed the Trust to buy precious wild lands and put the principles of John Muir and other pioneeringconservationists into practice. Such gifts enable us to expandour reach and help local communities carry out valuableconservation work, and they help projects that encouragepeople of all ages and backgrounds to discover wild places and learn about conservation principles.

The vast majority of legacy gifts we receive are unrestricted,which allows us to use the money wherever it is most needed at the time. Gifts can be ring-fenced where requested, of course.There’s also the option to leave a donation to the Trust’s LandManagement Expendable Endowment Fund, which provideslong-term security towards protecting and enhancing our properties.

Chief beneficiaries (clockwise from above):habitat monitoring; Eas Mor falls andsurrounding wild land, Glen Brittle; trekkingin Nepal through the Bill Wallace Grant; an Award group on Cadair Idris, SnowdoniaNational Park; drawing nature; SimonGershon lends a hand at a snowy Glen Lude

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TYPES OF LEGACYYou can leave as much or as little as youlike to the Trust, with several differentways in which you can choose to leaveus a gift:

A pecuniary legacy is a specific sum of money, decided at the time you writeyour will. Its real value will decrease over time due to inflation, unless it isindex linked. Pecuniary legacies are paid out before dealing with the residue of the estate.

A residuary legacy is payable from theremainder of your estate after all debts,liabilities and cash gifts (pecuniarylegacies) are paid. The residue of yourestate is often divided among severalbeneficiaries, expressed as percentagesof the whole. The value of residuarylegacies increases in line with the value of the estate.

A specific legacy is a gift of a possession,typically left to a friend or family member.These are usually personal items, suchas jewellery or furniture, but can alsoinclude land or property. If you intend to leave a piece of land to the Trust –or if you wish to place a restriction onyour gift – please discuss this with us inadvance as we must ensure that all suchgifts meet our charitable purposes.

Please note we would always advise thatyou consult a solicitor before writing oramending your will.

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About the authorAdam Pinder is a fundraiser for the John MuirTrust. He can be contacted atadam.pinder@jmt.org, or on 0131 554 0114. If thetime is ever right to consider leaving the Trust agift in your will, Adam would be delighted to hearfrom you.

GIVING FOR THE WILD

There are plenty of worthy causes andorganisations dedicated to helping bringabout change, so why did Simon Gershondecide on the John Muir Trust?

“I’ve been interested for several years inalternatives to our consumerist culturewith its high throughput of energy andmaterials,” explains Simon. “We are notdoing well with making our economysustainable, and I would like to seeprogress towards a culture that valuespersonal development and closeness to nature over material possessions andconsumption. The John Muir Trust doesnot have this explicit aim, but its objectsand activities all contribute to such a set of values.

“The John Muir Trust is also a matureand successful organisation, in the wayit’s run internally and how it engageswith the public and the ‘powers-that-be’.It’s radical in some ways but mainstreamin others. So I decided that the John MuirTrust should be able to make use of someof my legacy, to achieve lasting good.

“While I have been fortunate enough to inherit some wealth, and accumulatesome more, what I will be leaving willnot be much at all on the grand scale of things. However, the John Muir Trustis a relatively small charity. I believe that my gift is likely to make a tangibledifference in what it can accomplish –but not soon, I hope!”

Bringing back wildness on the land weown is a long-term process that will alwaysbenefit from legacy income. Other workthat benefits from legacies includes:

L a n d p u rc ha s e – in March of this year,the Trust launched a bid for the Talla andGameshope estate in the Scottish Borders.It was ultimately unsuccessful, but it wasonly thanks to accumulated income fromrecent legacies that we could make acredible bid in the first place. Futurelegacies may allow us to increase theTrust’s Land Fund and help us extendour land purchases. As developmentpressures on our wild land increase, thisfund may become ever more relevant.

Campaig ning – the Trust recognises thatit can’t save all our wild places throughownership alone. We spend a lot of timeresponding through the planning systemto the many individual threats to wildland. Most importantly, we engage withpoliticians and policy makers to campaignfor better long-term protection of our greatwild landscapes. In a time of increasingchange and significant pressure on ourlandscape, this work is more critical than ever.

Jo h n Mu i r Aw a rd – the Awardencourages people of all ages andbackgrounds into wild places to explore,conserve and gain an appreciation fornature and the outdoors. Our legacyincome supports many of these futureconservationists. The cumulative effect of Award activity across the UK is huge.Last year, it maintained 32,373 metres offootpaths, cleared an area the size of 100football pitches of invasive species, picked82,451 bin bags worth of litter, managed335,574 square metres of woodland andplanted over 20,000 square metres ofwildflowers.

Th e Bi l l Wa l l a c e G ra nt – increasedlegacy income allowed Trustees to setaside extra funding to the ‘Go and Do It!’Fund, established in memory of Truststalwart Bill Wallace. Each year, grants areawarded to successful applicants who seekout life-changing experiences in wildplaces. These experiences must benefitboth the individual and the wild place.

C o n s e r v a t i o n Fu n d – the Trustdistributes small grants annually toconservation projects on and around the land it owns. The most recent roundof funding supported native woodlandwork at Dun Coillich in Perthshire andNorth Harris; the purchase of two stalkingponies at Knoydart; habitat surveys inAssynt and control of invasive Japaneseknotweed at Torrin on Skye.

L A R G E A N D S M A L LSince our first legacy in 1996, we have received more than £3.7 million in legacies. In 2011 alone, legacy incomeexceeded £1.1 million – as much as inthe previous six years combined. 2011was clearly an exceptional year, and we are already accomplishing a hugeamount with this windfall.

Gifts in wills don’t have to be large tomake a big difference. Smaller legaciesquickly add up, and the combined effectcan be huge.

Remember that writing a will is the onlyway to ensure that your wishes are carriedout after your death. If you have beengenerous enough to include the Trust in your will, please let us know. Legacypledges help us plan for the future andput strategies into action.

We do hope that you will consider theTrust in your will. Your gift can help securethe future of some of our most spectacularlandscapes and ensure that the wild landthat inspires you today will survive andthrive for generations to enjoy.

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Quinag from the southeast, approachingInchnadamph

About the authorSheila Wren is advocacy officer for the John MuirTrust, based in London. She can be contacted atSheila.Wren@jmt.org

DIARY 17Thoughts from the Trust’s new advocacy officer

message is that we must be certain thatwind energy development is necessary,that it really does contribute economicallyto the energy mix and reducing carbonemissions, and that sufficient thoughthas gone into the positioning of futurewind farms. If need be, we will object to developments and I draw heavily onour policy team’s work in challenginginappropriate schemes.

As I settle into the job, it’s already clearthat no two weeks will be the same – andthat I will not be entirely London-based.Last week, for instance, I participated inan Ofgem workshop about National Gridresearch on consumer willingness to pay(WTP) for measures to reduce visualimpact of replacement transmissionlines; attended a course and used theTrust’s campaign as a case study whichproduced some good campaign ideas;and met with a Department for Energyand Climate Change official – an openline that might be useful.

This week, I met with an organisationwith similar concerns about energypolicy and that has the ear of media and government; worked with other

NGOs on a response to the WTPresearch; met with the Chief Executive of the Council for Learning Outside theClassroom, who has recently establishedan All Party Parliamentary Group; andheaded north to walk the route of theLondondale-Stalybridge transmissionline, a candidate for undergrounding, aspart of a hugely informative day hostedby the Friends of the Peak District. Nextweek, I’ll be in Welshpool, meeting withGlyn Davies, MP for Montgomeryshire,Russell George, Welsh Assembly Member,and groups campaigning against the hugeNant y Moch Wind Farm and transmissionline proposals, to see how the Trustmight help.

It will then get busier still: next up, it’sthe Party conference season; the Trust’sautumn Parliamentary reception; ourexhibition in the House of Commons in November; and lodging our petition.

But I won’t be trapped in the city forever.In my time, I’ve tramped along manyremote moors, hills and mountains, butsince moving to London I’ve gone ‘soft’,so I’m hoping to get out into the wildagain with Trust colleagues and membersto remind me what it’s all about.

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I C A R E D E E P LY about protectingprecious landscapes, so it’s a real privilegeto be working for the Trust. I was fortunateto grow up in the Malvern Hills but wasintroduced to ‘serious’ terrain in variousRAF roles, including cadet training andmountain rescue.

At the time, the physical challenge wasall important and, like many, I took it forgranted that the wonderful wild land inwhich we tested ourselves would alwaysbe there. However, I now understandthat such places could disappear unlesspositive action is taken. The Trust hascampaigned hard for many years and it’smy job to promote its efforts south of theborder. I’m based in Southwark, lodgingwith the London Wildlife Trust – a greatsupporter of the John Muir Award.

So far, I’ve been getting to grips with thekey issues, fleshing out campaign plansand meeting as many contacts as possible.My main task is to generate support forsafeguarding UK wild land. So, I speak to MPs, Lords, Government officials andstatutory agencies, as well as contacts in business, industry, academia and themedia. I also work with landscape charitiesand organisations with similar concernsabout the threats facing wild land.

But better statutory protection for wild land will take time, during which it continues to be eroded – mainly bywind energy infrastructure. Therefore, a key part of my role is to question UKenergy policy and expose pressures onwild land. I stress that the Trust is notanti-wind per se, but that the concern isabout the development of industrial-scalewind farms in inappropriate sites. Our

Corridors of power

Sheila Wren, our new advocacy officer, is charged withensuring that the Trust’s voice is heard in the very heart of Westminster. Her weeks are already proving busy

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COMMEMORATE18 Remembering two pioneers of the Skye Cuillin

Two of a kind Jamie Grant travels to Skye to learn aboutplans to commemorate two remarkable men who will forever be synonymous with exploring the Cuillin mountains

JOHN MUIR TRUST JOURNALAUTUMN 2012

T H E R E A R E F E W VI E W S of the Red and the Black Cuillin in Skye as spectacular as the one from the Sligachan Hotel. On a clear day, you can scan the shattered peaks and ridges of this great mountain range before letting your eye follow the Sligachan river’s wide sweep towards a blue glimmer of distant sea.

It is the perfect setting for a sculpture of the two men whoforged the Cuillin’s reputation for world class climbing in thelate 19th century. John Mackenzie was a crofter from Sconser,nicknamed ‘little goat,’ who scaled the fearsome peak of Sgurrnan Gillian when just ten years old. He went on to become thefirst British guide of Alpine standard, leading more than 1,000climbing expeditions into the Cuillin for over 50 years without a single accident.

Norman Collie was the Manchester-born chemist and scholarwho mastered both rock and ice to become one of the finestinternational climbers of all time. He made 17 first ascents of peaks over 10,000 ft in the Canadian Rockies, scaled MontBlanc without a guide in 1895 and reached 20,000 ft on themighty Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas. Collie later becamepresident of the prestigious Alpine Club and was behindBritain’s first expedition to Everest in 1921.

Collie’s passion for rock climbing was first sparked on Skyeduring a fishing trip with his brother to the Sligachan Hotel in 1886. Wandering across the moor one day they spotted twotiny figures climbing the Black Cuillin’s indomitable Sgurr nanGillian. Collie was transfixed by the image, later writing, “itseemed to me perfectly marvellous that human beings could do such things”.

He sent a telegraph for some ropes to be delivered to the hoteland later tackled Sgurr nan Gillian with abundant enthusiasm,but little experience. Beaten back twice, he only succeeded onhis third attempt after seeking the advice of local ghillie andmountain guide John Mackenzie. The climbing partnership wascemented with a joint ascent of Am Basteir (The Executioner)later the same year.

F R I E N D S F O R L I F EMackenzie and Collie went on to explore the farthest corners ofthe Cuillin range together in the 1890s. They pioneered spinechilling routes such as the Formidable Gap and the westernface of the Inaccessible Pinnacle. In 1896, they ascendedBritain’s last unconquered summit, Sgurr a Choire Lochain,and discovered the Cioch buttress in 1899. They left behind the memory of their names with two Cuillin peaks named afterthem in Gaelic: Sgurr Mhic Coinnich and Squrr Thormaid

What is even more extraordinary about the intrepid pair is that they mastered the Cuillin in all weathers dressed inNorfolk jackets, tweed breeches and hobnail boots. Faced witha particularly difficult pitch Mackenzie would take his boots offand climb in his woollen socks. Once on the tops, the scholarand the crofter would stop to smoke their pipes, preferringunspoken empathy to loose conversation.

As well as their climbing achievements, their story is one of an extraordinary 47-year friendship that defied the rigid class conventions of Victorian Britain. Despite their differentbackgrounds, they were bound, like the rope slung betweenthem, by a common love of Skye’s wildest places. Collie mayhave climbed in the Alps, Norway, the Himalayas and theCanadian Rockies, but it was Skye and the memory of hisfriendship with Mackenzie that he would return to at the end of his life.

In 1939, Collie moved to the Sligachan Hotel, aged 80, to takeup a solitary vigil over the Cuillin. He was often seen alone out on the moor, or in the hotel’s smoking lounge where heliked to drink a glass of wine after dinner. He died in the hotel of pneumonia in 1942 after falling into Storr Lochs on a fishing trip.

His last wishes were to be buried at the foot of Mackenzie’sgrave in the small graveyard at Struan a few miles up the road.The lie of their headstones, both cut from the gabbro of theBlack Cuillin, gives the impression that Mackenzie is stillleading Collie on their last great ascent into the afterlife.

T O G E T H E R AG A I NA bronze statue to commemorate their lives is earmarked for arocky knoll across the river from the Sligachan Hotel. StephenTinney, the sculpture’s creator, has spent years poring overphotos of the two men to create a likeness that will be true totheir characters and their antiquated dress code. He has evenhad time to double the height of his workshop and has installeda children’s roundabout to spin the sculpture around on whilehe moulds it out of clay.

The sticking point to the sculpture actually being built is afunding target as daunting as the peaks that Mackenzie andCollie first contemplated over a hundred years ago. The Collieand Mackenzie Sculpture Group needs to find a further £150,000to cast the two men in bronze. “We have had a lot of support,especially from the John Muir Trust, and all of Skye is behindus,” commented the group’s chairman, Hector Macleod. “We’veput ten years into this and aren’t about to give up now.”

The sculpture is tantalisingly close to finally being erected. All the infrastructure is now in place with a car park and pathscompleted. A beautiful dry stone wall, built by stone masonHector Nicolson with help from 140 eager schoolchildren, is now also in place instead of an old stock fence. The groupeven managed to persuade energy supplier SSE to bury threehydro poles that had strung an electricity line across the view of the Cuillin from the hotel.

Once finished, Mackenzie and Collie will become a permanentfeature in this view – a glittering reminder that you can’tseparate a landscape from the story of its people.

Mountain men (clockwise from left):Mackenzie’s headstone with Collie’sbehind; pipe band and workers at thenewly built gateway to the Cuillin; thesculpture as it will look once in place;Collie (on left) and Mackenzie

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Further infoFor much more on the project, including how to donate some bronze for the sculpture, visitwww.skyesculpture.comAbout the authorA former communications officer at the JohnMuir Trust, Jamie Grant is now a freelance writer and photographer, based in Glen Lyon.www.jamiemurraygrant.co.uk

LEARNING20 Exploring the need to reconnect children with nature

Children in natureA recent report by theNational Trust on children’sdislocation from naturecontinues to generate muchdebate. Rob Bushby looks atits findings and highlightswhere the Trust fits in

JOHN MUIR TRUST JOURNALAUTUMN 2012

T H E NAT I O NA L T RU S T stimulated a flurry of media interest in April withthe publication of its Natural Childhoodreport – a detailed study that citesevidence of a long-term and dramaticdecline in children’s relationship withthe outdoors. With a particular focus onthe 7 to 12 age group and the so-calledphenomenon of ‘nature deficit disorder’,a term coined by American authorRichard Louv in his bestseller Last Child in the Woods, the report calls for “the creation of a new way of life for our nation’s children”, one in which“every child has the chance to develop a personal connection with the natural world”.

In the US, Louv’s book sparked livelydebate on the human cost of alienationfrom nature. It caught the attention ofMichelle Obama and even resulted intrees being placed on the set of SesameStreet for the first time. The NationalTrust aims to generate a similar level of discussion on this side of the Atlanticand to create what it describes as a road-map that will help reconnect childrenwith nature.

M I X E D R E S P O N S EThere’s much to applaud in the NationalTrust’s report. The goal of more childrenhaving greater contact with nature iswidely recognised as important andworthwhile; the report collates researchand identifies the range of potentialbenefits – physical and mental health,education, community involvement,environmental awareness – that aregained from a connection with thenatural world; and it adopts an inclusiveapproach to stimulating discussionabout children’s engagement with the outdoor world.

But the report has ruffled feathers, too. The term ‘nature deficit disorder’ is presented as a pervasive nationwideaffliction and is seen by some as overlyemotive and burdensome – “as if youngpeople are suffering from a recognisedmedical condition”, comments GeoffCooper, Chair of the Adventure andEnvironmental Awareness Group.

The survey results used to portray whatthe report describes as the “dramatic andworrying consequences of the currentsituation” also drew a strong response

Soaking it up (clockwise from above):watching the waves roll in, Cornwall;a family backpacking trip; enjoyingsome down time at Derwentwater;seeing nature through different eyes

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from Rich Mitchell, Professor of Healthand Environment at the University ofGlasgow, who called for more perspectivein the debate. “It’s easy to let our worriesabout children’s health obscure theextraordinary progress that has beenmade,” he says. “In the UK, children aresafer, better housed and better protectedthan ever, and [levels of ] happiness of 11 to 15 year olds in Britain has risensteadily from 1994 –2007.”

There is a feeling among some thatoversimplifying and overstating a causallink between nature contact and thebenefits for all children is not altogetherhelpful. It’s certainly a complex area, and difficult to extract from wider peer,parental, school, social and environmentalinfluences on health and well-being.Writing in the Summer 2012 issue of theInstitute for Outdoor Learning’s Horizonsmagazine, Cooper references a 2011report, Children and Nature, in whichTim Gill, a leading thinker on childhood,analyses more than 60 previous studies.As Cooper states: “The studies present somany variables in terms of the experiencesof nature (from urban green spaces to

wilderness), time spent, presence ofadults, social and cultural background of young people, that care is needed inmaking general statements.”

And in seeking to simplify a message and quantify outcomes of natureexperiences, Cooper wonders whether“some important components, such asspiritual and emotional connections,[are] missed because they are difficult to measure?”

On the question of socio-economics,Professor Mitchell points out that thereport mentions poverty only once, withDame Fiona Reynolds acknowledging, in her foreword, “the problem is morepronounced in low-income urban areas”.

At the Trust, we have found poverty to be a hugely important factor when itcomes to engagement with the outdoors.A three-year University of Glasgow studyinto the health impacts of the John MuirAward found that young people living inthe 15% most deprived areas in Scotlandare more than six times less likely to havevisited wild places than the norm, andconcluded that “efforts should continueto reach the least advantaged”.

B R OA D E R D E BAT EThe National Trust’s report argues that lack of nature contact is a society-wide issue. If that’s the case, some wouldquestion the report’s primary focus onthe 7 to 12 age group and would welcomea much broader discussion – one thatincludes older children and adult carers.

“Parents and teachers are two of the mostinfluential groupings when it comes toconsidering barriers to accessing nature,”comments Andy Robinson, CEO of theInstitute for Outdoor Learning. “How arewe working with or looking to supportthese groupings?”

The report concludes with a rallying call,‘Towards Solutions’, which acknowledgesthat these groups need to feature andthat “conservation bodies must alsocontinue to lead the way in promotingthe importance of getting children backto nature”.

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Flower power (left to right): smellingdaffodils; a group from Saheliya enjoystime at Edinburgh’s Redhall WalledGarden as part of a Green Team project

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The discussion generated by the NaturalChildhood report and its subsequentroad-map should reveal the range ofexciting projects that already exist, aswell as indicate good practice and tapinto political will. Although the reportfocuses on England and Wales, significantrecent progress in Scotland merits a closerlook too. Here, there’s strong supportfrom national and local government foroutdoor learning approaches to helpdeliver the Scottish Curriculum forExcellence, which helps teachers andeducators (many with limited outdoorexperience) legitimise stepping outdoorsto deliver learning outcomes.

And while it can be a challenge totranslate political rhetoric into action andresources, the sentiment of Dr AlasdairAllan, Minister for Learning, Science andScotland’s Languages, is not uncommon.“The place of outdoor learning could notbe more relevant today … there is a hugebenefit to society through developingmore active citizens who demonstrateconnection with and understanding ofnature and all its life-enhancing elements.[It] aligns superbly with principles ofsustainability, biodiversity and theimportance of habitat diversity for a healthy population.”

Meanwhile, Scotland’s two national parksare taking a strong lead with initiatives toengage a wider audience. Their researchindicates that young people want toundertake activities in areas further awayfrom their homes as this heightens thesense of adventure and remoteness; theyplace emphasis on activities rather thanareas; and – in terms of engagement withnational parks and nature reserves – aremotivated by activities with higher levelsof perceived risk, such as rock climbing,abseiling, mountain biking and other‘adrenalin’ pursuits.

There’s plenty going on throughout theUK, too: the Council for Learning Outsidethe Classroom and Institute for OutdoorLearning offer strong leads, while a newinitiative called Project Wild Thing (withthe National Trust as lead partner) aims to“re-connect one million kids with nature”.

T RU S T I N V O LVE M E N TFor its part, the John Muir Trust isunequivocal in its aspiration for societyto value its wild places. It promotes theJohn Muir Award as its primary (thoughby no means only) vehicle for connectingpeople and wild places. Over 160,000Awards have been achieved since itslaunch in 1997 – reflecting, together with many other initiatives across thecountry, that there is already a significant‘movement’ in place and that we don’tnecessarily need a universal kick-start as stated in Natural Childhood.

The Award increasingly reaches a wide age range. While 45% of the 23,000participants involved in Award activity in 2011 were under 12 years of age, 13%were over 16, including a diverse rangeof volunteers, leaders and teachers.Meanwhile, the number of secondaryschools getting involved throughmainstream classes has doubled since2010, and an increase in demand forAward Continuing ProfessionalDevelopment events supports wideranecdotal evidence of the uptake of outdoor learning approaches insecondary schools.

In addition, a Family Award created last year to encourage more, and better,inter-generational activity has been wellreceived. As Orlando Rutter of DartmoorNational Park comments: “Our evaluationsclearly show that children respondspecifically to opportunities to explore,have fun, learn about wildlife andcontribute through conservation tasks.Parents value the opportunity forinterpersonal learning, both with theirchildren and other adults. They are alsooften surprised at their own journeys,both cognitively and emotionally.”

Finally, some 30% of Award take-up in 2011 (and at least 25% every year since 2001) was with ‘social inclusion’audiences, and interest from FurtherEducation Colleges and adult learners in Scotland has doubled during the past year. The structure of the Awardaccommodates the variables alreadyhighlighted by Geoff Cooper and creates

a context for active responsibility for wild places as an integrated part of anoutdoor experience.

At archetypal and anecdotal levels, weknow that a society disconnected fromnature isn’t a healthy society. There is “a wealth of reports to support our workin outdoor learning”, says Geoff Cooper.And there is good evidence that contactwith nature brings benefits to physicaland mental health to some children and adults, confirms Professor Mitchell,whilst encouraging us to be “realistic andobjective in both assessing and promotingwhat nature can do for us”.

There’s no doubt that we face a challengeto integrate connections with the outdoorswith modern lifestyles, especially withyoung people. The Natural Childhoodinitiative, with its provocative terminologyand young children focus, brings awelcome impetus to a wider debate. It encourages us to explore what works,to generate political support andhighlight the many benefits that astronger connection with our naturalenvironment might offer each and every one of us.

Further info National Trust, Natural Childhood reportwww.bit.ly/QIoKs6John Muir Award resources and links www.jmt.org/jmaward-resources-links.aspAbout the authorRob Bushby is the Trust’s John Muir AwardManager. He can be contacted atRob.Bushby@jmt.org

Mountain Equipment

G O L D C O R P O R AT E M E M B E R SAnatom Berghaus Dandy Collective Graham Tiso Limited Highlander (Scotland Ltd) Mountain Equipment Wilderness Scotland

S I LVE R C O R P O R AT E M E M B E R SBen Nevis Distillery Four Seasons Hotel, Loch Earn HF Holidays Fergus MacFarlane Pharmacy Radical Travel Group The Ski and Snowboard School

B R O N Z E C O R P O R AT E M E M B E R SAlpine Exploratory Beyond the Glens Charles Taylor Woodwork Cotswold Outdoors Ltd Dewar’s World of Whisky Durham Marriot Hotel, Royal CountyEdinburgh Mountain Film Festival Kings Manor Hotel, Edinburgh Northshots Walkhighlands The Watermill, Aberfeldy Walk Wild Scotland Webducate

S U P P O RT E R SBP Employee Matching Fund Corrour Estate Image Scotland LtdNorthern Light Profitmaster Systems Ltd

We value the contribution of the growing number ofcompanies that support the Trust through membership,donations, promotional initiatives and in-kind support. If your business would like to help our business of protectingwild land and wild places, please contact Fiona Mackintosh on 01796 484 970 or email fiona.mackintosh@jmt.org

The John Muir Trust would like to thank Mountain Equipmentand all our Corporate Members and Supporters, as well asthose other companies who provide support such as payrollgiving schemes

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testimonial 23

Supporting the John Muir Trust as acorporate member is one of the key thingsthat Mountain Equipment is doing to playits part in helping to ensure that those ofus who love to experience adventures inthe mountains will be able to continue to do so.

“At the heart of mountaineering lies a passion for living life to the full inwilderness mountain landscapes,” saidRichard Woodall, Marketing Director atMountain Equipment. “These landscapesare the fabric that mountain adventuresare woven into and the very reason ourbusiness exists. The work that the JohnMuir Trust does is invaluable in helpingto preserve the unique and preciousparts of the world that are so importantto us all.”

A British brand that has been makingclothing and equipment for over fifty years, Mountain Equipment hassupported many pioneers – including Sir Chris Bonnington, Doug Scott and Sir Ranulph Fiennes – on an array oflandmark expeditions, including a

string of groundbreaking ascents onEverest, every British first ascent of an8,000m peak and unsupported trips toboth poles.

So many of these great achievementswere conceived of, and prepared for, inthe British mountains. The next generationof mountaineers will depend upon thislandscape in the same way. This is whyMountain Equipment is a Gold CorporateMember and an enthusiastic supporterof the John Muir Trust.> www.mountain-equipment.co.uk

Since Mountain Equipment began in 1961, we have been witness to an age of outstandingachievement and evolution in the history of climbing and mountaineering. We have also seenan equally dramatic increase in pressure on our wilderness mountain areas

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Mountain Equipment-supportedclimber Dave MacLeod approachesthe top of the world’s hardest sea cliff climb – the Long Hope route at St John’s Head, Hoy

AWARD24 Inspiration on journey to university education

Inspiring lives

Kim McIntosh sees how a John Muir Award based around the life of a Scottish mountaineering legend helped a group of adult students prepare for university education

JOHN MUIR TRUST JOURNALAUTUMN 2012

I N S P I R AT I O N C A N C O M E in many forms. For a group of adult students from theScottish Wider Access Programme (SWAP) – an initiative that helps adults with few orno qualifications progress to higher education – it was a local man of the mountainsthat helped fire the imagination.

Studying on the Access to Science programme at North Glasgow College, Springburn,the students were preparing to progress to university courses in bio-sciences. Havingparticipated in John Muir Award Leader Training with Scotland’s Colleges, SWAPdevelopment officer, Lisa Marsili, chose to deliver a John Muir Award to bring a local dimension and structure to the students’ spring term of activities.

Lisa was inspired by revered Scottish mountaineer and conservationist Tom Weir and wanted to share this with the students by following in his footsteps. “I was firstinspired by Tom Weir through watching Weir’s Way on late night TV in the 1990s; hehad me hooked on his travels through Scotland’s wild places,” she recalls. “He inspiredme to explore Scotland and learn about its culture and ecology, which is now one ofthe most rewarding parts of my life. I particularly admired Tom’s modest, unassumingapproach, which I feel enables his message to be accessible to all, regardless of ageand culture.”

Lisa used the framework of the Award’s Four Challenges to help the students learnabout conservation, develop teamwork and key skills, make a difference for biodiversityin Springburn, plus learn more about the cultural and natural history of the local area.

Green fingers (clockwise from above):SWAP student Lucie in the wildlifegarden created in the grounds ofNorth Glasgow College; the groupwith Rhona Weir; Tom Weir on theCobbler

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Here is how they met the Four Challenges:

D i s c o v e r a w i l d p l a c e. The wildplaces were provided by green spaces in and around Tom Weir’s two homes:Springburn and Loch Lomond & TheTrossachs National Park. The studentslearned about Loch Lomond throughwatching Weir’s Way episodes on thearea while, over the course of a collegeterm, they and staff spent time in thecollege grounds, Springburn Park andalso visited Gartocharn and DuncryneHill (known locally as the Dumpling).They even walked along the street where Tom spent his childhood.

E x p l o re i t s w i l d n e s s . As all thestudents in the group were preparing to study natural sciences at university,part of their Award was focussed onexploring the ecosystems in their wildplaces. They compared and contrastedthe environments and, in particular,learned about non-native species around Loch Lomond. They were also encouraged to explore the humanelements of being in nature. What doesspending time in wild places mean forpeople? And what impact does time innature have on us? The students knewabout Tom Weir’s love of exploring wild

places and wanted to understand more about why people enjoy and value time outdoors.

C o n s e r v e a w i l d p l a c e. To make adifference to wild places, the studentscreated a wildflower garden within thegrounds of North Glasgow College –work they hoped would help improvebiodiversity in this urban area and providehabitats for wildlife, particularly pollinators.They were also keen to create an outdoorspace for the college and a place whereother students and staff could enjoybeing in a natural environment.

S ha re y o u r e x p e r i e n c e s . Inpreparation for university, the grouplearned how to write a scientific journalarticle and planned to create a pieceabout their Award for the GlasgowBiodiversity publication. Further sharing of their experiences camethrough representing SWAP at the North Glasgow College end of year party, and promoting their work andAward to potential students through a presentation and photo exhibition.

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APABOUT TOM WEIR

Tom Weir was one of Scotland’s best-loved conservationists, with his writingand broadcasting about the Scottishlandscape, people and natural historyinspiring generations of Scots.

Born in 1914, Tom spent his childhood in Springburn, an inner city district inthe north of Glasgow with an industrialhistory based around the railways. Hismother worked as a wagon painter in the Cowlairs locomotive works butwould regularly leave the city with Tom and explore the Campsie Hills, just a short bus journey away. It was here that he was introduced to a lifetimeof outdoor adventure. After service withthe Royal Artillery in World War II, heworked for Ordnance Survey beforebecoming a professional climber, writerand photographer. In 1950, he was amember of the first post-war Himalayanexpedition and later climbed in Greenland,Iran, Syria and Kurdistan. But it was thehills of Scotland that made him famous.

Tom hosted Weir’s Way, wearing histrademark woolly hat and Fair Islejumper, exploring the landscape andhistory of Scotland and meeting peoplealong the way. In his later years, Tom and Rhona spent their married life in Gartocharn, Loch Lomond, whereTom famously climbed Duncryne Hillevery day. Although he had climbed and walked extensively across Scotlandand around the world, Tom reckonedDuncryne, locally known as the Dumpling,had the best view of any small hill in the country.

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Loch Lomond views: group membersduring the ‘discussion on the dumpling’(top); Tom and Rhona Weir at Tom’sLifetime Achievement Award presentation

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I C I N G O N T H E C A K EWhen the John Muir Award ProposalForm, the paperwork required to registerfor the Award, first arrived at the Trustoffice, Award staff were impressed by the unique approach Lisa and the grouphad taken with their plans and the focuson Tom Weir. A keen supporter of theTrust, Tom was also the first person to be recognised with a John Muir LifetimeAchievement Award (one of only four in the Trust’s 30-year history). His wife,Rhona, remains an active Trust member.

And we were not the only onesimpressed by this approach. Afterdiscussing the SWAP group’s Award at the John Muir Trust AGM in June,Rhona invited the students to visit her at home in Gartocharn and hear moreabout Tom’s Lifetime AchievementAward for themselves. Delighted by theinvitation, the group planned a day outin the National Park incorporating a walkup Duncryne Hill and a ‘dialogue on theDumpling’ to discuss the importance of conservation and the need for time in wild places.

This was followed by lunch and anafternoon with Rhona who showed thegroup photos of Tom from different timesin his life, including receiving his MBE(in 1976) and his John Muir LifetimeAchievement Award in 2000. “Tomalways said the award he treasured more than any was the John Muir Trust Award,” she told the group.

Later, Rhona recounted stories of Tom’s expeditions in Nepal as well assharing tales of their days climbingtogether in Scotland. She told how heloved producing Weir’s Way and sharinghis love for Scotland with others. Herpassion for the outdoors also shonethrough as she took the group for aguided walk around the local area. Shespoke of how Tom had been committedto the conservation of wild places and

his involvement in campaigning forNational Parks in Scotland.

As well as stories from their lives, Rhonashared a few words of wisdom with thestudents – “live every day to the fullest,treat each day like it is the first day of therest of your life”. The afternoon endedwith Rhona presenting the students andstaff from SWAP with their John MuirAwards and congratulating them on their achievements.

“Rhona was so welcoming and lookedafter us well,” said one of the group, RachelForbes. “It was awesome to meet her andshe is doing a great job of carrying onTom’s work and legacy.”

“It was fantastic to meet Rhona and beawarded our certificates by her,” addedLisa. “We all thought that Rhona wassuch an inspiration – what a lady! It was fantastic to listen to Rhona’s storiesabout her and Tom; however we werealso fortunate to learn about Rhonaherself. Being fond of adventures in themountains myself, I particularly enjoyedhearing about her adventures with theScottish Ladies Climbing Club, whichshe is still greatly involved in.”

Coincidentally, the day that the SWAPgroup visited Gartocharn, Rhona receiveda letter from the National Park about theplanned placement of a memorial toTom within the Park – a timely reminderof Tom’s importance to conservation inScotland. It is an importance that will no doubt inspire many more Scots toenjoy and do something positive for wild places.

About the authorKim McIntosh is John Muir Award Scotlandinclusion manager. She can be contacted atkim@johnmuiraward.org

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INTERNATIONAL28 Comparing the nativewoodland cover of aEuropean neighbour

Wild land, wild woods

Mike Daniels recently visited Slovenia as part of an EU Nature Exchange programme and couldn’t help but be struck by the country’s extensive native woodland cover

JOHN MUIR TRUST JOURNALAUTUMN 2012

H E R E ’S S O M E T H I N G to ponder. What would wild land in the UK look like if nature had the upper hand? Ifnatural vegetation was left to cloak ourhills instead of heavily grazed grass andceaselessly burnt heather? Some of ourwild land would undoubtedly remainbare – the scree-covered slopes, wind-scoured summits and vast areas of mossand bird-rich blanket bog – but muchwould also be wooded. There would befertile oak, aspen and willow riparianwoodland in the glen bottoms, pine andbirch on its sides, and juniper, dwarfbirch and dwarf willow scrub growing up to the mountain summits.

In many ways, it is this native woodland,in all its forms, that is perhaps the bestindicator of the health of our wild land.And while there are some encouragingsigns, it is fair to say that in terms of wildland woodlands, the UK remains the sick man of Europe. As a country, wehave one of the lowest percentages ofwoodland cover on the whole continent(see Classic text, p32). And much of thewoodland we do have is non-native, or at best semi-natural, without the agestructure and dead wood component of old growth forests found elsewhere.Incredibly, across the entire country, weonly have 1km of natural tree line, andan entire ecosystem – montane scruband its associated plant, insect and bird life – that is now virtually extinct.

But, perhaps at last, we are beginning towake up to the value of our woodlands(as a recent consultation on the nationalforest in England highlighted), and theneed for more of them (as a recentconsultation on woodland expansiontargets in Scotland suggested).

As a Trust, we aspire not just to anywoodland, but to the full range of nativewoodland (including montane scrub) in a landscape-scale mosaic of wild land habitats, all governed by naturalprocesses. We and other conservation-minded landowners are taking tentativesteps to make this happen, where possible.Native trees and other natural vegetationare slowly beginning to re-claim the bare hills and glens of Abernethy, CorrieDhorrcail, Creag Meagaidh, Glen Nevis

and Glenfeshie. Elsewhere, ambitious re-planting and re-wilding schemes are breathing new life into Carrifran,Dundreggan, Ennerdale and Glenlude to name a few. At present, however, theseinitiatives remain green beacons of lightin an otherwise sterile, stunted landscapedominated by monocultures of sheepwalk, deer ‘forest’, grouse moor and sitkaspruce plantation.

TA K E O N E C O U N T RYAs part of a European Union fundedNature Exchange, I was one of a group of six people from Scotland who werelucky enough to spend a week in theKarst region of southwest Slovenia in July – a visit that provided a glimpse of what extensive native wild landwoodland cover might look like.

The contrast with back home was all-toostark. While Slovenia has a similar totalarea of woodland to Scotland (at 1.2million hectares), it represents 60% ofthe land cover of the country (as opposedto 18% in Scotland) and consists of morethan 90% native woodland (compared to less than 30% in Scotland).

Slovenia’s woodland is home to virtually every European mammalspecies, including wolf, bear, lynx, wild boar and beaver, plus a staggeringdiversity of plants, birds and insects. Of course, there are many reasons for this biodiversity, from geography (the convergence of Alpine andMediterranean zones) to geology (rich limestone) and climate. All, ofcourse, are very different to that found in Scotland. But the fundamental

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Slovenia green (clockwise fromopposite): a wild lake in amongst thetrees; a Slovene wood; colourful localwildlife; Grmeènik waterfall

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Further infoThe Nature Exchange programme was funded by the European Union’s Leonardo Da Vinciprogramme and was organised by the Perthshire-based Arch Network and the Vitra Centre forSustainable Development, Slovenia.About the authorMike Daniels is the Trust’s head of land & science.He can be contacted at Mike.Daniels@jmt.org

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point is that a landscape-scale areadominated by native woodlands createsstructural diversity and a home for a hostof biodiversity long since gone fromScotland and the wider UK.

Culturally and socially there are manydifferences too, not least the politicallegacy of the former Yugoslavia, andpatterns of land ownership. In terms ofwoodland management, there has been a long culture of low use protected (wildland) areas and sustainable use of otherareas. Most of the forests we saw wereunder ‘continuous cover systems’ witheither single trees or small groups felledevery ten years. This brings an ecologicalcontinuity that in turn ensures the survivalof woodland-dependent species – asopposed to the shock and awe clearfelling regimes employed in the UK.

Consequently, there is little need for theengineering infrastructure associated withour industrialised forestry. The sheer scaleof the seed source in Slovenia ensuresnatural regeneration is the main woodlandcreator. Mechanical mounding, sprayingand planting is unnecessary, as are theneed to cage trees individually or encirclelarge areas in six-foot-high deer fences.

And unlike in Scotland, where red deerdensities commonly reach more than 20 deer per km2, in Slovenia the range is more like 0.4–8 per km2. Here, huntersare used to stalking in woodland coverwith low deer densities, while the deerare also subject to other natural predators.Slovenian hunters must submit theirmanagement plans for state approval, asopposed to Scotland’s ‘voluntary principle’where the landowner decides how manydeer are wanted regardless of theecological implications.

M U C H T O D OWill we ever reach a similar point athome? There is certainly a long way to go if we are to move from the currentfragmented patches of semi-naturalwoodland to extensive areas ofcontinuous native woodland and other habitats enjoyed by countries such as Slovenia. The Trust and otherswill continue to do what it can on theland it manages through ownership and partnership. Landscape-scaleinitiatives, such as the Coigach andAssynt Living Landscape project, canalso influence change at a larger scale, as can our continued contribution to

debates and consultations on woodlandand deer management policies.

Ultimately, though, it will take a majorshift in public (and political) attitudesbefore we see our own hills, so bare andbereft of biodiversity, restored to howthey once were.

Land of trees: more than 60% ofSlovenia is wooded (above); classicKarst scenery (left)

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CLASSIC TEXTS32 Offering a historical look at our woodlands

The Living Forest, HL EdlinHaving first encountered it asa teenage tree-spotter, MikeBrown remembers a text thattells our own story as well asthat of our woodlands

H E R B E RT E D L I N, O R ‘HL Edlin’ touse his more frequent nom de plume,was a prolific woodland writer whoserange extended from forest managementto woodworking crafts, from folklore totree identification. I first stumbled upona library copy of The Living Forest as anenthusiastic teenage tree-spotter intenton improving my identification skills, but quickly learned there was more tostudying trees than – in Edlin’s words –“stamen counting”.

The Living Forest is a rich synthesis of Edlin’s many strands of woodlandknowledge and enthusiasms, drawing on a score of disciplines, from placenames and social history to botany andeconomics. Edlin tells the story of thetrees as they slowly reclaimed the BritishIsles after the last Ice Age: the dwarfbirches and willows taking root on thetundra as glaciers retreated, followed bybirches, rowans and aspens until the lastof the ‘natives’ made it across before theland bridge with the Continent wassevered.

Then, he recounts the arrivals, byaccident or design, for decoration or food or commerce, of subsequent speciesand the creation of our landscape today,with our woods, or lack of them. But hisforest story is also a human story. Longbefore such views were commonly heard,he spelled out the interdependence, thecreativity and the murderous destructionwhich people could bring to theirwoodland environment.

Fifty years before going out tree-plantingwith the John Muir Trust and reading up on deer policy, I was learning fromEdlin of man’s constant depletion offorest. Scafell, he points out, is the NorseSkoga Fjell, the forested mountain – oneof many clues embedded in languagescattered across the maps. And wherenow are the alders of Fafernie or thepines of Glen Geusachan? He describeshow, over the centuries, deforestationbecame institutionalised in humanactivity. The Domesday Book defined thescale of a wood by the number of pigs it could support during ‘pannage’ – thecustom of bringing pigs into oak woodsto devour fallen acorns. “Pannage standsas a classic example of how to eliminatea forest,” says Edlin. “Cut off the seedsupply – and wait.”

The Royal Forests were formed on tractsof land with commoners’ grazing rights,and so were doomed. Eighteenth centurypainters recorded a landscape punctuatedpicturesquely with huge, aged trees. Butthey were freak survivors. The uprighthealthy specimens had long been takenby shipbuilders and sawyers, with those that remained left to illustrate the perverse rule of the survival of theunfittest. Their potential successors, inturn, had succumbed to the herds andflocks which complemented the artists’pastoral scenes. By such routes we came to ‘deer forest’ – that Orwellianeuphemism for habitat devastation.

Edlin’s historical sweep revealswoodlands, both coppiced andpollarded, hosting crafts and smallindustries and producing raw materialsfor a multitude of trades, many longobsolete. He provides a vivid snapshot of the role wood played in our lives half acentury ago, whether in building vehiclesor making musical instruments. Edlin iswriting at the heyday of the conifer whenthree out of every four trees planted bythe Forestry Commission were Sitkaspruce, a very Scottish import fromBritish Columbia: discovered by

Menzies, imported by Douglas andpromoted on a large scale by StirlingMaxwell at Corrour. As a forester, Edlinexpresses an enthusiasm for the speciesless often voiced today. But like all classics,The Living Forest reflects its time as wellas having timeless appeal.

And then as a reader’s treat, Edlin laces his erudition with an abundance of curiosities which, for a forager likemyself, means my copy is well-thumbed.We may not need to know that thecharcoal of alder buckthorn was the most favoured by gunpowder makers,but if that sort of nugget appeals to youthen Edlin will also tell you that theTannenbaum of the Christmas carol is the common European silver fir;Killiecrankie means ‘the wood of theaspen’; ginkgo is related to the treeswhich formed our coalfields; and sweetchestnuts are found near Roman sitesbecause legionaries ground the nuts intoa porridge. He also enjoys debunkingpopular ideas. Welsh archers did not useyew for their bows; elm was their woodof choice.

B o o k d e t a i l sThe Living Forest was first published byThames & Hudson in 1958 and is readilyavailable secondhand.

JOHN MUIR TRUST JOURNALAUTUMN 2012

The reviewerMike Brown is a Trustee of the John Muir Trustand a former editor of the Journal.

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BOOKS 33From seeing old ways withnew eyes to a portrait of a mountain

R o b e r t Ma c f a r l a n e, Th e O l d Way s :A Jo u r n e y o n Fo o tReviewed by Judith Wilson

It is easy to condescend to paths: well-trodden, unambitious alternatives to thegrandeur and solitude of wild places –“beaten paths for beaten men”. But humansare pathmakers, and our relationshipwith the world is a long negotiationbetween wilderness and mapping.

The Old Ways opens with the kind ofunexceptional walk that most of us willrecognise: along suburban streets, acrossa golf course. Macfarlane follows the trailonwards, exploring how walking evenfamiliar paths grounds us in the world.Following the footfall of those who trodout the track before gives us bearings onwhere, and who, we are “for paths runthrough people as surely as they runthrough places”.

The Old Ways is ‘a journey on foot’, but it is one made up of a network of trailsthrough space and time. Macfarlanewalks the deep past of the Icknield Way and Formby Point. He is taken for a walk in Ramallah and experienceshow walking may create a space for new understandings of a contestedlandscape; he learns to see a path ofvanishing faintness on Lewis. He walks a pilgrim route in Tibet, and over theLairig Ghru to his grandfather’s funeral.

Everywhere, paths are places ofencounters: there are stories andconversations that reach back toprehistory in the shared experience ofthe journey. Macfarlane is attentive toqualities of terrain and atmosphere, alertto the particularities of geology and light,as well as to human character. In thiswise and generous book, paths are notsecond-best to wilderness: they engageour imagination, returning to us thefreedom that we share with the wild. Step out and follow the beaten track.

Hamish Hamilton 2012, £20.00 http://fivedials.comISBN: 978 0241143810

Th e Nat u ra l E x p l o re r,Un d e r s t a n d i n g Yo u r L a n d s c a p e,T r i s t a n G o o l e yReviewed by Rob Bushby

A strong premise of this engaging andstimulating book is the simple philosophythat “the explorer must do two things:make discoveries and communicate theseto others”. As the only living person tohave both flown solo and sailed single-handedly across the Atlantic, Gooleydoes have some modern day credibilityin this area.

The Natural Explorer offers a companionpiece to his popular first book, The NaturalNavigator, and seeks to reclaim the term‘explorer’ from its current “moribund”state. In terms very familiar to a Trustaudience, he wants us to “return to theacts of discovering and sharing, onhowever modest a scale”.

To help us do so, there are short, themed chapters covering an array oftopics from the specific (plants, weather)to the geographic (city, river, coast), the sensory (colour) and the aesthetic(beauty, imagination and wonder). These are punctuated with historicdelving and anecdotes that are plentifulbut necessarily, frustratingly, brief. Thisepisodic format is a bit of a tease andleaves the reader wanting more fromeach chapter.

Historical and inspirational travellersenliven the book throughout. John Muir features in an extensive cast, with quotes to help interpret the sky, the landscape and our relationship withnatural features. In a line that reflects the essence of The Natural Explorer,Gooley explains that “Muir became oneof America’s most revered naturalists notbecause of the extraordinary things hesaw, but because of his extraordinarydesire to see things”.

Sceptre (an imprint of Hodder &Stoughton), £16.99 (hardback). Alsoavailable as an e-book. www.hodder.co.uk ISBN 978 1 444720334

A n Te a l l a c h , Th e Fo r g e, L e s l e yTi m i n g s w i t h G e o f f re y C o v e l lReviewed by Richard Rowe

Given the scale and grandeur of thescenery in the northwest Highlands, it takes a special mountain to stand out above all others. But, for many, An Teallach – the forge or the anvilin Gaelic – does just that.

Rising from the waters of Little LochBroom to a height of 1,062 metres, and with 11 individual peaks of Munro height along its five-kilometre ridge line, An Teallach is a formidable lump of Torridonian sandstone. Its scale,location and form – all sculpted ridgesand bare-rock pinnacles and crags – have enticed mountaineers, explorersand photographers. All are drawn by a profound sense of wildness.

The mountain has certainly left a deepimpression on the authors of this bookwho provide an intimate, season byseason portrait that explores its rockyheart from every possible angle: itscharacter and moods, ecology, socialhistory and wider connection with thehuman spirit. And they are not alone inbeing captivated, as accounts from thelikes of WH Murray, Seton Gordon andearly mountain explorers testify.

The language reflects the extremes of the mountain itself – winter sees “galesdrum the air over open spaces andagainst the mountain, thrashing AnTeallach’s woodlands” – but the authorsalso cherish An Teallach’s softer sides: itswildlife and different hues of the seasons.

But in amongst the accounts of exploringthe mountain’s summits, corries and airyridges, it is Martin Moran, a mountaineerof current vintage, who perhaps puts itbest, saying simply: “There are only a few special mountains whose aura shinesmore brightly after close acquaintance.An Teallach is one of them.”

The Steading Workshop, £23.00 www.tswpublishing.co.ukISBN: 978 0 9530069 3 9

PROPERTIES34 A glimpse at life on Trust land

JOHN MUIR TRUST JOURNALAUTUMN 2012

Sandwoodseasons Don O’Driscoll chartsanother year in the naturalcycle at Sandwood

AU T U M N. ‘S E A S O N O F M I S T S andmellow fruitfulness.’ “Yeah, right,” I’minclined to say. I doubt Keats was ever atSandwood with the tail end of a hurricaneblowing in off the Atlantic. But the wavesare magnificent. So are the gannets thatstrike into them.

But what of the months just passed? The Sandwood path appeal has been agreat success and, under the guidance of our new footpath project officer, ChrisGoodman, and the herculean efforts of contractors Martin and Mark fromLochinver, the stretch of path around the banks of Loch a’ Mhuillinn has nowbeen redirected onto higher ground.Other sections have been resurfaced.

The work has been in line with the Trust’scommitment to facilitate access to ourproperties and contain the damage doneby paths braiding out onto the surroundingpeatland. Our work has been appreciatedby visitors, with many stopping to thankvolunteers for their efforts.

This year I was given a couple of remotecameras, which I set up along otter trailsand nearby holts. The cameras picked up images of the animals themselves,although their main purpose was for use on deer carcasses to see what wasfeeding on them. The results wereunsurprising, but one photo reallypleased me: it showed a young eaglemantling a carcass with a wary fox in theforeground and two ravens watching inthe background like sextons at a funeral.

Then there are the little things, so easilymissed: the miniature cliffside ‘woods’ of prostrate juniper, creeping willow andbonsai aspen; the ivy and burnet rosethat cling to their steep, spray-lashedsanctuaries. A metaphor for tenacity.Smaller still, the grains of sand that, if seen through a hand lens, reveal amicro-world of fish bones, shells, shucks, carapace; a host of delicateshapes, textures and colours.

This year was the first time that nolapwing came at all – a sad thing thatshouldn’t go unnoticed. This beautifulwader is in decline due to wider habitatloss and changes in agricultural practices.Cathal’s seabird monitoring also revealeda downward trend in the number ofnesting auks and kittiwakes.

Elsewhere, our cave-roosting starlingshad a set-back last winter when manywere drowned after a storm wave swepttheir roost at Droman. But it’s not all badnews: they have enjoyed a good breedingseason and numbers are back up. Theirneighbours, the rock doves, are alsothriving and keep the resident pair of peregrines well-fed.

Life on the moorland is quieter now,certainly compared with May and Junewhen larks, pipits, golden plover, cuckoos,dunlin and red-throated divers are in fullvoice. But come September, it livens upagain with the roaring of stags, skeins ofgeese overhead and, best of all, the wildswans – their bugling calls and flightfilling the land and adding a sense ofscale to the expanse of blanket bog.

Soon there will be activity in the burns as the compulsion to start new life drawssalmon and trout from sea and loch upto their spawning redds. A quiet upstreamapproach to these places can sometimesreveal these amazing creatures, somecoming to the end of an incrediblejourney.

Winter also has its own stark beauty.Sometimes, while out stalking with justthe dogs for company, it’s no hardship toknow that there isn’t another person formiles, and the only prints on Sandwoodstrand are those of birds, an otter, or a prospecting fox.

The seasons come and go, but the wondernever diminishes. It’s a privilege to bepart of it all.

About the authorDon O’Driscoll is the Trust’s conservation officerfor Sandwood & Quinag. He can be contacted atdon.odriscoll@jmt.org

Bay of plenty: the broad expanse ofSandwood Bay, with Cape Wrath inthe distance (top); otter tracks

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SNAPSHOTOn top of the world, on top of Quinag,looking over to Lochinver and thelochans of Assynt.

Want to experience more of thislandscape? Visit the Assynt Festival, 3-10 October www.assyntfestival.org.uk

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