land RepoRt 2017 Managing wild land for people and wildlife johnmuirtrust.org Pictured this page: Crossing the wire bridge at Steall Gorge with Trust land behind Opposite page: Dwarf willow, Sandwood John Muir Trust gratefully Contents acknowledges support from 3 Introduction 12 Nevis Fire, footfall and flora 4 Sandwood On the tourist trail 14 Schiehallion Edited by: Rich Rowe, Nicky McClure Forest plans revealed 6 Quinag Design: Inkcap Design Photography: Don O’Driscoll, Lester A living landscape 16 Glenlude Standen, Romany Garnett, Sarah Lewis, A rewilding journey Stephen Ballard, James Brownhill, Blair 8 Skye Fyffe, Nicky McClure, Karen Purvis, People and place 18 John Muir Award Sandy Maxwell, Keith Brame and Kevin Lelland A powerful tool 10 Li & Coire Dhorrcail Cover image: Skye property manager Ally Macaskill collecting A recovering land 19 Special projects hawthorn seeds People power ©2017 John Muir Trust WELL x A y M y AND : S 2 | Land Report 2017 oto Ph Welcome Welcome to ThE latest John Muir Trust Land Our small but dedicated team of land staff, contractors Report which highlights the range of work carried out and volunteers manage and monitor this land to ensure on the land we manage. Thanks to the generous support its wild land qualities are maintained and enhanced of our members, we own and care for almost 24,500 for the benefit of the landscape, its wildlife and people. hectares (60,500 acres) of wild land in the UK, ranging Between us, we plant trees, fix footpaths, monitor wildlife from Ben Nevis, Sandwood Bay in the far northwest and vulnerable flora, cull deer to restore ecological highlands, Schiehallion in Perthshire, Quinag in Assynt, balance, aid habitat recovery, remove litter from coasts part of the Cuillin on Skye, and Li & Coire Dhorrcail in and summits, and much more besides. remote Knoydart to the far more accessible Glenlude in Managing such important areas of wild land is a the Scottish Borders. never-ending job, but it is a role we relish. And as you will Each area of land has its own distinct character. And read in these pages, our efforts to conserve and enhance each area is managed to both protect and enhance it, habitats and biodiversity for the benefit of all are reaping while also encouraging local communities and visitors to rewards at many of our properties. use and enjoy it to the full for their businesses, recreation, I hope you enjoy learning more about what we do on or through the John Muir Award. our land, and why. Our work is only possible with support In 2016 alone, more than 2,500 people achieved their from our members, volunteers and funders and we are John Muir Award as part of direct involvement with Trust very grateful for all they do to protect wild land. properties and partnerships. The following report, essentially a snapshot of our recent work, illustrates the huge variety of activities carried out on Trust land, and the breadth of people involved. For walkers, climbers, cyclists, musicians, artists, military personnel, hospital patients, local residents, tourists and many others, our land offers people of all ages and interests an opportunity to Mike Daniels experience some of the best wild land in the country. head of Land Management SCOLL O’Dri ON h: D AP r otog Ph johnmuirtrust.org | 3 Sandwood, Sutherland On the tourist trail Fast facts > Sandwood covers 4,703 hectares (11,621 acres) of wild and crofted A bewitching place, Sandwood is an increasingly land just a few miles from Cape popular destination for tourists in the northwest Wrath, the most northwesterly tip of mainland Britain highlands, explains Don O’Driscoll > The vast beach at Sandwood Bay is guarded on its south side by the sea stack Am Buachaille (the shepherd) ThE name Sandwood comes colour in summer. It is also home to from the Norse ‘Sandvatn’ meaning eight species of bumblebee including sandy loch, and refers to the land the rare great yellow which is now around the famous bay that draws confined to this very specific habitat. stoat, weasel, fox, mice and water visitors to this striking part of With machair-friendly grazing vole – although the latter is in Sutherland all year round. schemes in place, the health of decline. It’s a wild place. Just south of this important habitat is carefully We keep a close eye on seabirds Cape Wrath, Sandwood often feels maintained by crofters in nearby too, although our long-term the full force of the Atlantic weather townships. The Trust is working with monitoring continues to highlight a systems that roll in. The colour of one of the local grazing committees steady decline in numbers across a the landscape changes almost daily, and Scottish Natural heritage to variety of species, including fulmar while the lack of light pollution instigate a land management scheme (see graph). There is more positive means that night skies can be designed to benefit crofters and the news for breeding pairs of raptors spectacular – particularly when the wider moorland environment. such as peregrine falcon, golden Northern Lights appear. We also work closely with local eagle, and sea eagle which are all Our Sandwood estate is a national schools, helping deliver rural skills holding steady. Site of Special Scientific Interest, programmes and educating pupils From the shore, common and grey with large parts also designated about issues such as marine litter. seals are often spotted, while lucky as a European Special Area of visitors can also catch a glimpse Conservation. It’s also a land of great Habitat monitoring of various cetaceans, sometimes archaeological interest. The Trust’s monitoring work extends including orca and bottlenose Almost half of the estate is covered beyond the machair to include dolphin. by blanket bog, although there are heather, blanket bog and juniper, Unsurprisingly, tourism is hugely also hills, lochs, dunes, weathered which are all checked for grazing and important to the area with the recent sea cliffs and machair – a flower-rich trampling impacts. With declining development of the North Coast 500 habitat found only in certain parts sheep numbers and red deer kept generating a considerable boost in of Britain and Ireland. highly valued at around 150 animals (a density of tourist numbers across the North by crofters for the rich feeding it two/three per square kilometre), the highlands, with around 15,000 provides stock, machair land was ground is lightly grazed. visitors now coming to Sandwood once also important for growing oats Sandwood is home to a healthy Bay each year. and potatoes. number of otters, a small but stable Acutely aware of the fine balance The machair holds more than 220 population of mountain hare, and between facilitating access and species of wildflower and is a riot of a range of other mammals such as limiting damage to this fragile landscape, the Trust has invested Sandwood Estate | Maximum fulmar numbers 1997-2016 heavily in upgrading the Sandwood 800 footpath, plus providing a car park 700 and toilets at the trail head. 600 500 400 300 200 100 Don O’Driscoll is the Trust’s Sandwood & Quinag Property 0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Manager 4 | Land Report 2017 Sandwood perspectives Sandwood machair in full flower full in machair (main); Sandwood at cleaning Beach Pictured: Schools Durness and Kinlochbervie Teacher, Head Acting Smart Graeme including John Muir Awards and our our and Awards Muir John including projects of variety a on pupils of range a with school of out and in worked has who ranger local our with particularly benefit greatly from the experience.” the from greatly benefit to continue will pupils our and future, the in continue to that expect relationship with the John Muir Trust and and Trust Muir John the with relationship working good very a had always have We r ural Skills programme. programme. Skills ural i fully fully johnmuirtrust.org |5 johnmuirtrust.org PhotogrAPh: NiCky MCCLurE PhotogrAPh: Jack TAN Quinag, Sutherland Muir Award, while a Wildlife Watch A living landscape group also spent time with Trust staff finding out more about bugs and beasties. Working in partnership with local communities In 2016, adult volunteers from the surrounding area helped with is key to enhancing this particularly wild part of footpath repairs during a special Assynt, writes Romany Garnett footpath skills training day, while naturalist David O’Brien held an ID training day on Quinag looking at the many amphibians and reptiles that Assynt IS A hill walker’s paradise, is also key as we help people to are found on the property. with Quinag one of the most popular reconnect with the landscape The Trust also recently teamed mountains of all. It’s easy to see why. through educational activities, with the Rotal Botanic Gardens, Kew With three summits – Sàil Gharbh, guided walks and volunteering in a project to collect tree seeds from Sàil Ghorm and Spidean Coinich – opportunities. our various properties. The project, striking ridges, and sweeping views, which aims to establish a national it’s a special place to be. Annual monitoring collection of native tree seeds for Up high, it’s possible to glimpse As part of our annual monitoring long-term conservation, saw us golden eagle, ptarmigan and ring programme in late-spring, we check collect seeds from birch, holly, ouzel, while on the shoreline the progress of 155 marked seedlings rowan, wych elm and honeysuckle sightings of seals and dolphins that are scattered over a range of at what is one of the most northerly are common. Bridging the two are habitats.