Into the forest at Dundreggan Rewilding Centre

Looking back to highlights of 2023, I was excited to finally visit the flagship rewilding project at Dundreggan Rewilding Centre. This highly acclaimed forest restoration project is a taster for how our landscape can be if it's allowed to flourish. As it was still the tail end of autumn, the birch trees still hung with gold and the colours were wonderful in those woods.

After an exploratory hike and a dreamy delicious lunch, we joined Education Manager Kat for a guided rewilding walk for the low-down on  the trees, plants and animals to be found  in this special place.

"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness"

This quote by the famous environmental philosopher John Muir sets the tone at the fabulous, wooden building as you enter the Dundreggan Rewildling Centre. We learned about the incredible diversity of epiphytes, about the particular nature of aspen (and how it has living bark - see previous blog here). The trees were quite literally hanging with lichens, with lots more at our feet so easily missed.

Hammock camping tree climbing adventures!

On our earlier ramble we had taken Ceum á Ghiuthais or the pine path. And what a fine pine we found too, check out the wee humans for scale, that tree must be quite a few hundred years old. There are some young trees coming through, and in places, great swathes of juniper too, a sight we never see back home in central Scotland.

Wildlife highlights of the trip were crossbills, close views of Black grouse, a wild boar wallow and, best of all, a flittery flock of Lesser Redpolls that filled the tops of several trees with their amazing calls. It was great to be there and so great to share it with friends and a big thanks to my wonderful pals for more tree and hill filled adventures!