Hope into action - Kinloch Woodlands - bringing back Scotland’s old Caledonian forest

Icy beginnings

The last ice age held Scotland in its thick glassy grip until the glaciers began thawing some 15,000 years ago. Pioneer plants and lichens tentatively colonised the exposed bare rock, gradually building up soil and increasingly complex floral communities until, around 7,000 years ago, most of the land was cloaked in a rich, diverse forest. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) dominated in the Highlands forming the great Caledonian Forest which spread over 1.5 million hectares sheltering many animals including iconic predators such as lynx and wolves. Temperate rainforests composed mainly of silver birch (Betula pendula) and downy birch (B. pubescens) developed along the wetter west coast, brimming with their own specialist and today exceedingly rare oceanic lichens, liverworts, bryophytes and fungi.

About 6,000 years ago, the climate became wetter and peat bogs began pockmarking the forest. Humans gnawed at it too, felling more and more trees for fuel and building materials, but also to clear the land for farming. The Caledonian Forest dwindled under this onslaught as did the wildlife it sustained, whittled down through hunting and habitat loss. The last wolf is thought to have been shot in 1743. By the 1950s only 1% of the great forest remained as scattered oases where the specialised wildcats, pine martens, capercaillie and crested tits clung on. Without the large predators, red deer numbers exploded exerting even greater pressure on the remaining trees, as did the introduced sheep. The ancient rainforests suffered even more. As little as 30,000 hectares remain, fragmented, overgrazed and threatened by invasive neophytes, pollution and climate change.

Changing tides

But while humans are largely responsible for the destruction of these once great forests, they are now key to their future. Attitudes change. People are starting to realise and appreciate the value of wild forests and the role they play not just in mitigating the twin impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss, but also in providing areas where people can seek solace and be inspired by wild nature. Charities, landowners, crofting communities, businesses and volunteers are coming together across the Highlands to plant trees, protect endangered species and reintroduce others that were lost.? ?

The 3,700 acre Kinloch Estate, on the west coast of Scotland close to the picturesque coastal village of Shieldaig is one such place. Once part of the much larger Lochcarron sporting estate, it has swapped deer stalking for woodland restoration. In 1994, the new owners set about rewilding 1,000 acres of land so degraded that only a handful of old trees and fragments of original native woodlands remained. The area was fenced to protect it from overgrazing deer and sheep and half a million saplings were hand planted following the contours of burns and hillocks, leaving pockets of peat bog and rocks. The aim is to create a natural, open lattice of woodland composed predominantly of Scots pine, downy birch and rowan, with additional willow, hazel, sessile oak and alder.

From tiny acorns, mighty oaks grow

The Kinloch Woodlands are gradually emerging from land degraded by decades of logging, fire and overgrazing. The once bleak, heather-clad slopes now sport a fresh fuzz of deciduous green while the darker pines cast ever deepening 5 O’clock shadows. It will take many more decades, even centuries for these fledgling forests to mirror and merge with the splendid Scots pines cloaking Ben Shieldaig, spared from logging by the precipitous terrain and managed since 2019 by the Woodland Trust, but already the patience and planting are paying off. Badgers and buzzards have returned, long suffering and persecuted foxes are sometimes glimpsed, as are sun-worshiping adders (yes, it can be sunny in Scotland!). Primroses and violets dot the drier ground while sundews and asphodels thrive in more boggy substrate. Eagles, both white-tailed and golden, cast occasional shadows over the land, while bats take advantage of the forest edge along which to hunt. Perhaps the greatest success story is that of the red squirrels reintroduced to the Kinloch Woodlands and Ben Shieldaig in 2016 by Trees for Life. These charismatic animals (pictured below, curtesy of Claire and Richard Munday) have now colonised practically the entire available woodland, ensuring that they remain safe from the introduced grey squirrels and the deadly pox they carry.

Aquatic organisms are also thriving. The Shieldaig River which cuts between the old Caledonian forest of Ben Shieldaig and the emerging Kinloch Woodlands empties into Loch Dughaill where resident brown trout patrol the dusky depths. The fish trap that has counted but hindered the modest run of sea-trout and the occasional migrating salmon since 2001 was removed in 2023, and juvenile fish will benefit from the planting of more shade-casting trees along the river banks above the loch. Dragonfly larvae pullulate in the peaty bog pools before emerging as acrobatic, gem-like adults. Black darter—the UK’s smallest dragonfly—white-faced darter, northern emerald and azure hawkers have all been recorded here by the British Dragonfly Society which aims to designate Kinloch as one of its special sites.

Deer have proved more controversial for although ungulates certainly contribute to a richer ecosystem, without natural controls they can also wreak havoc, especially in young forests. Roe and red deer unfortunate enough to venture inside the enclosure are shot, but once the forest has sufficiently regenerated, deer will be allowed access and their browsing will help improve biodiversity.

In 2001 the Kinloch estate became a Charitable Trust and was reconstituted as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated organisation in 2016. The long term goal of Kinloch Woodlands, now a community owned estate, is to involve more local people in the management of the estate and to improve the two marked access routes to encourage more walkers, both visitors and locals, to use and enjoy them.

At the time of writing, the flora and fauna had yet to stir from their winter torpor with the exception of surprisingly small amphibians and surprisingly large, dark and very hairy caterpillars. As for the vistas and views, they were uplifting and sweeping, just like the fledgling but far reaching Kinloch Woodlands below.

Perhaps one day, the lynx and wolves of old will be reintroduced to pad once again through this ancient landscape.

Now that’s a fine thought. And one to hope into action.

Lucie Wuethrich, 13 March 2024