SNH National Landscape Character Assessment

Landscape Character Type 221 ROLLING UPLANDS - INVERNESS

Location and Context The Rolling Uplands - Inverness Landscape Character Type consists of rolling hills which lie to the south east of the Great Glen, and form an upland backdrop to much of the eastern part of Inverness district, extending far beyond the district boundary and into the Cairngorms National Park. The uplands act as a sheltering edge to the Farmed Strath landscape type, from which they rise. They also form a backdrop to more distant areas to the south, east and west where they seem to merge into an undulating skyline without any clearly identifiable features.

Key Characteristics  A series of large scale, smooth, rounded hills with summits of similar height forming broad, undulating upland plateaux containing occasional steep-sided straths.  Open heather moorland dominates, the uniform colour and texture accentuating the landform.  Straths floors contain inbye pastures, trees and small patches of woodland.  Conifer forests limited to the lower edges of uplands and strath sides.  Settlement limited to a few isolated farms in remote straths.  A few mainly single track roads, integrated within the landform.  Uninhabited interior, largely inaccessible to vehicles.  Archaeological evidence of settlement and farming from prehistoric times to the 19th century.  Striking colour and textural contrast between strath floors and moorland vegetation above.  Expansive views from the hill tops and plateaux create a strong sense of openness and exposure.  Scale and distance difficult to judge.  Few signs of active management in the interiors, creating a strong perception of remoteness, although this is affected by a number of large wind farm developments.

1 SNH National Landscape Character Assessment LCT 221 ROLLING UPLANDS - INVERNESS Landscape Character Description Landform This landscape is dominated by a series of large scale, smooth, rounded hills with summits of similar height, of between 550 and 850 metres above sea level, which collectively form broad, undulating upland plateaux. Formed by the glacial erosion of underlying mica schists, the hills are devoid of clearly defined summits, corries and deep u-shaped glens, creating a vast, almost featureless landscape, with no distinct patterns or obvious hierarchy of characteristics. The hill tops or plateaux tend to be spaced far apart and are of an even height.

A central strath containing the upper reaches of the River Findhorn - Strathdearn - bisects the eastern half of the plateau, and continues into Moray and Nairn. Deeply incised burns cut occasional crevices between some hills. A number of small lochs occur in poorly drained areas, most frequently in the west.

Landcover Broad areas of glacial till and peat deposits create the generally smooth texture of these hills, and underlie extensive areas of surface peat and peaty podzols. In some areas, the smoothness of the hills is broken by small areas of scree or occasional rocky outcrops which create localised patterns upon upper slopes together with occasional patches. The nature of the groundcover is similar throughout much of this landscape type. Deer-grazed heather moorland dominates: its uniform colour and texture accentuating the smooth, rounded landforms and the simplicity of the landscape. Patterns of muirburn are also a feature of this landscape type, and in some areas this practice has led to surface erosion and peat hags. Strath floors contain inbye pastures and small patches of woodland and forestry cover the strath sides. These areas provide striking colour and textural contrast with the simple cover and muted tones of the moorland vegetation above.

Small wind-cut trees and clumps of woodland occasionally line watercourses or are sometimes found in remote glens where grazing has been restricted. However, some grazing has led to an even age structure and there is an absence of regeneration. Conifer forests, which are usually fenced, tend to occur mainly on the edges of this landscape type, although occasional small forests are found in sheltered straths. The colour, texture and shape of the forest blocks contrasts with the moorland surroundings and some are particularly noticeable on account of their linear edges, which contrast with the flowing forms of the rolling uplands.

Settlement Settlements tend be located in the few remote, steep-sided straths which run through this landscape type. Here, isolated farms with inbye pastures cover the strath floor and small patches of woodland and forestry cover the strath sides. The interior of this landscape is uninhabited and is inaccessible to vehicles.

The circular stone foundations of prehistoric hut circles with associated evidence of arable fields and pastures are relatively common in sheltered straths. Medieval townships and shielings are also present, although the latter are few in number. Later abandoned 19th Century settlements are also found. Sections of military roads, such as the Corrieyairack

2 SNH National Landscape Character Assessment LCT 221 ROLLING UPLANDS - INVERNESS Pass, also cross the south western extremity and eastern edge of the area.

Few roads cross this landscape, those which do are single track and tend to be integrated with the landform. A number of hill tracks cross the moorland, mainly providing access for stalkers and to manage woodlands. These are often highlighted due to their light colour of exposed aggregate contrasting with the surrounding heather, emphasised by poor construction, or due to excessive erosion, or where their line contrasts with the shape of the landform.

A few power lines cross this landscape, introducing strong lines, dividing spaces and indicating scale. There have been a number of large windfarm developments within this Landscape Character Type, in the southern and western margins of the Monadhliath mountains above Loch Ness and near Moy and Farr. These form prominent features in this landscape, highly visible in the open surroundings and create a focus in the landscape. Much less prominent structures are the occasional reservoirs and river dams for hydro- electricity schemes. Overall, the vastness of the plateau is such that, outwith these developments areas there is a general absence of elements which indicate scale so that it is difficult to judge distance and size in this landscape.

Perception Views from hill tops and plateau areas are expansive, creating a strong feeling of openness and exposure. Elevated views reveal the interlocking arrangement of the moorland and hill landform. Between the hills and within the straths and glens there is a greater sense of containment. Where there is a general lack of artefacts and few signs of active management in the interior, this evokes a strong perception of remoteness. However, the presence of wind farms alters and in some cases undermines this.

This is one of 390 Landscape Character Types identified at a scale of 1:50 000 as part of a

national programme of Landscape Character Assessment republished in 2019.

The area covered by this Landscape Character Type was originally included in the Inverness LCA (Richards, J), published 1999.

3 SNH National Landscape Character Assessment LCT 221 ROLLING UPLANDS - INVERNESS