“Look at that. It’s what people expect the Scottish Highlands to look like and they consider it beautiful.”
I followed the gaze of Innes MacNeill as he pointed along the valley to what was indeed a classic Highlands view. On the flat grassland near the river was a pastoral scene of grazing cows, while the steep sides of the glen were rugged and bare, denuded of trees. A few hours ago I would have called it beautiful but I was now seeing the landscape through different eyes.
“We’re just short of planting a million trees here, but it’s a drop in the ocean”
I tried to imagine it as it would have been a thousand years ago or more. There would have been forest, home to a wide range of wildlife, including wolves, bears and elk. But, head ranger Innes explained,
