SCOTLAND’S LIVING LANDSCAPES Mountains M O U N T A I N S S C O T L A N D ’ S L I V I N G L A N D S C A P E S S C O T T I S H N A T U R A L H E R I T A G E is an upland ecologist and bout the author: Mark Wrightham and has been climbing in Scotland for over mountaineer, as a National works Strategy He now Officer20 years. with Scottish Natural Heritage, dealing with various upland policy issues. A SCOTLAND’S LIVING LANDSCAPES Magnus Magnusson KBE, Founder-chairman, Scottish Natural Heritage. mountains, and highlights the importance of their nature – in every sense." 973260 £4.95 1- 85397- 326- 2 o-thirds of Scotland is covered by mountains and wild uplands, which by straddle geologicalo-thirds and climatic of Scotland is covered and growth in unexpected, rugged and hidden places; mountains revive the ailing soul with atuesque sentinels such as Suilven and Ben Loyal in Sutherland,atuesque sentinels such the and Ben Loyal as Suilven steep ridges narrow of Lochaber to of stewardship. andards of the evolution of our planet. This book captures so much of the essential spirit of Scotland’s "I love the series title ‘Scotland’s Living Landscapes’ because for me, mountains are intensely living and intensely alive; and not only alive, but life-giving, too. Mountains harbour vivid life he vast boulder plateauxhe vast of the Cairngorms, our mountain unique ranges are and spectacular. the power and purity of their beauty, while hugging to themselves some of the deepest secrets Tw the distinct mountain From shattered gabbro of the areas. Cuillin to boundaries us several Skye to give st t These special landscapes and their use and demand the wildlife to vulnerable insensitive highest are st Mountains: 781853 ISBN ISBN 9 Price Scottish Natural Heritage. site Visit on http://www.snh.org.uk our web ISBN 1 85397 326 2 ISBN 1 85397 MOUNTAINS SCOTLAND’S LIVING LANDSCAPES © Scottish Natural Heritage 2002 ISBN 1 85397 326 2 paperback A CIPO record is held at the British Library HS4K1002 Acknowledgements: John Mackay, Des Thompson, John Gordon, John Baxter Author: Mark Wrightham (SNH) Series Editor: John Baxter (SNH) Design and production: Iain Sarjeant, SNH Design and Publications Photography: S.Austin cover bottom centre, 22, 25 top left, 25 bottom right, N.Benvie 20 top left, L.Campbell cover top left, cover bottom left, 15 top left, 16, 21 bottom right, 23 top, 24, 25 top right, 25 bottom left, L.Gill/SNH 1, 3, 6, 7 bottom, 10 top,11, 12, 13, 14 left, 15 top right, 17, 18, 19 left, 19 right, 20 bottom right, 21 top left, 21 top right, 21 bottom left, 36, B.Grant 30 bottom, J.Hyde/ B&C Alexander 8, P&A.Macdonald cover right, insert opp foreword, introduction, 2, 5, 7 top, 9, 10 bottom, 29 right, N.McIntyre 14 right, 29 left, 32, J.Macpherson inside cover page, 33, 34, 35, K.Ringland 23 bottom right, I.Sarjeant contents page, 30 top, G.Satterley 28, S.Whitehorne 26, M.Wrightham 4, 31. Illustration: E.Charman/SNH map, JMW.Turner c National Gallery of Scotland, Loch Coruisk, Skye 27. Scottish Natural Heritage Design and Publications Battleby Redgorton Perth PH1 3EW Cover photographs (clockwise from top left): 1. Golden eagle Tel: 01738 444177 2. Loch Einich in the western Cairngorms Fax: 01738 827411 3. Mountain hare E-mail: [email protected] 4. Creeping azalea on an exposed ridge Web site: http://www.snh.org.uk MOUNTAINS SCOTLAND’S LIVING LANDSCAPES by Mark Wrightham Contents Introduction 1 The ancient foundations 2 A collision of continents 2 The volcanoes of Scotland 7 Ice sculptures 8 The Ice Age 8 Snow and glaciers 10 The mountains today 13 Trees and woodland 14 Heaths and bogs 15 Plant life on the high tops 16 Upland mammals 23 Upland birds 24 Invertebrate life 24 Mountains and people 26 Sheep walks and deer forests 29 Hillwalking and mountaineering 30 Human impacts 33 Looking ahead 34 References 37 Stac Pollaidh from Cùl Beag Ben More and Stob Binnean Foreword Finally, in the year 2002, those steep sided, conspicuous 2002 are over and done, the drive for more tender loving care landforms we call ‘mountains’ are being honoured as we for our mountains must not falter. Scotland has other significant celebrate the International Year of Mountains. Hopefully this mountain areas in need of improved conservation status. As year will help us all gain a greater appreciation of the need for indicated by the author of this publication: “Scotland’s more care of their spiritual qualities, their beauty and mountains are the most extensive near-natural areas in Britain, vulnerability. with many habitats, plants and animals which are rare or absent elsewhere in the world.” Though not high mountain cloud-piercers like the European or Southern Alps of New Zealand or the Central Andes, the Scotland’s literature, painting and photography bespeak the Scottish Highlands are high on the list of beloved mountains of importance of its mountains as symbols of national identity. the world. The pressures of development, however, are great, This publication will hopefully increase the knowledge of local for these, like mountains worldwide, are economically residents and visitors from elsewhere about the Highlands of marginalized areas. The pathway of sustainable development Scotland, and promote greater stewardship of these precious and conservation is difficult, but Scotland is now taking a landscapes. The World Commission on Protected Areas leadership role in this approach. congratulates you in your move to create two mountain National Parks. Why stop at two? A major component of sustainable development is giving areas of special value some kind of protected area status. This year, Scotland has just established its first National Park, centred on Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, and the Cairngorms National Professor Lawrence S. Hamilton Park is in the final stages of establishment. These are splendid Vice-Chair for Mountains contributions to the International Year of Mountains. World Commission on Protected Areas World Conservation Union (IUCN) But after the tumult of International Year of Mountains, after the conferences, workshops, and other mountain-based events of Between 1883 and 1904, the Scottish Meteorological Society maintained an observatory on Ben Nevis. W.T. Kilgour's account of life in the observatory was published in 1905, and well illustrates the nature of the mountain environment: "The sublimity of prospect, the variety of phenomena, the rolling mists, and the raging tempests have their own peculiar interest, and none the less enthralling is the study of gales and cloud effects, the torrential rains, the accumulation of snow, and the remarkable range and fluctuation of temperature; but the feature which probably most impresses the uninitiated is the stillness - the awful solitude - which at times prevails amid these fastnesses". Ben Nevis Beinn Eighe and Liathach Introduction Mountains and wild uplands cover two thirds of Scotland. This extend more than 600m above the limit of tree growth and relatively small country straddles geological and climatic their natural environment and wildlife have much in common boundaries and contains several distinct mountain areas. On with summits in the Pyrenees or Norway. Long-lived Skye, the Cuillin encircles Loch Coruisk with a dark wall of snowbeds linger in the shadowy recesses of Ben Nevis and shattered gabbro. In Lochaber, narrow ridges of glistening the Cairngorms. quartzite plunge to deep glens with scattered birchwoods. In Sutherland, statuesque sentinels such as Suilven and Ben Loyal Our mountains record the immense geological forces that overlook mile after mile of gnarled wet heathland, which turns shaped Scotland over millions of years. They are the most to a rich golden-brown in the autumn light. In the Cairngorms, extensive near-natural areas in Britain, with many habitats, vast boulder plateaux with granite tors rise from lower slopes plants and animals that are rare or absent elsewhere in the of heather and pine. Winter transforms all of these mountains, world. They are well-known landmarks and symbols of national bringing, by turns, the crystalline beauty of sunlit snow and ice, identity, enriching the lives of local residents and those who visit or arctic blizzards with driving spindrift. for recreation. But these unique mountain landscapes and their wildlife are also vulnerable to insensitive use and demand the Scotland's mountains may appear small alongside the Alps or highest standards of stewardship. Himalaya, but this comparison is deceptive. Our highest peaks 1 The ancient foundations Today's mountain scene is a snapshot in a continuing process of change, and the origin of Scotland's mountains can be traced almost to the beginnings of measurable geological time. A collision of continents 1500 million years ago, north-west Scotland was part of an ancient continent known as Laurentia. This continent included much of present-day North America and was separated from northern Europe, and the rest of Britain, by an ocean known as Iapetus. But all this was to change, and a period of extraordinary upheaval 400-500 million years ago laid the foundations for much of the Highlands. The movement of vast plates that comprise the earth's crust forced these continents together, crushing, folding and uplifting the sedimentary rocks of the ocean floor. These rocks were drastically altered during this process, creating hard schists and slates, which formed a great mountain range known as the Caledonides. The collision of the continents also forced these rocks westwards in north-west Scotland, overriding the ancient crust for over 70km, and the resulting 'front' is marked by the line of an internationally renowned geological feature - the Moine Thrust.