Alder is an important riparian tree that helps create much needed shade and add nutrients to Scotland’s rivers.
RESTORING A LIVING LANDSCAPE – NATURE AT ALLADALE
Alladale Wilderness Reserve provides 23,000 acres of sheer, rugged beauty, where the balance of nature is returning. It is your true escape: witness the panoramic views; explore the reforested Highland glens; breathe, and experience a wild landscape in recovery. For when we return to nature, we return to ourselves.
“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”
JOHN MUIR
Scottish Environmentalist, Philosopher and Naturalist
A LIVING LANDSCAPE
In every detail, there are signs of the recovering ecosystem at Alladale. Look to the skies for golden eagles; search for rare orchids and twinflower; keep an eye out for black grouse and ptarmigan; and marvel in the wild spectacle of the Atlantic salmon run. Across the Reserve new saplings of Caledonian pine, rowan and birch are beginning to restore the forests.
To learn more about what you can expect to find, click on the image of each species below to explore the diversity of Highlands wildlife, native to Alladale.
ALDER
HEATH-SPOTTED ORCHID
Heath-spotted orchids are common across the Reserve during the summer team.
HIGHLAND CATTLE
The resident herd of highland cattle help to maintain species rich grasslands on the Reserve through their grazing, trampling and fertilising.
HAZEL
Hazel is one of the characteristic trees of the ‘Atlantic Hazelwoods’ that have been increasingly recognised as ‘Celtic Rainforest’. Hazel can be found in areas with richer soils on the Reserve.
FIELD NOTES FROM NATURE
Charlie Ottleys Wild Poems
Charlie Ottley – TV presenter, explorer, adventurer, even a poet – is a dear friend of Alladale’s.
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Suggested Reads, For The Wild
Breath in and the clean air soothes your mind, sharpens it, and attunes you to the rhythms of nature.
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Building Wilderness
Deep in the Scottish Highlands, a process of regeneration is taking place.
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