I have scrolled back to see which book I last talked about, but there was so much water under the bridge since then that I gave up - so I’m just here to say that this week I read John D Burns’ new book, Wild Winter, which will be published (in the UK at least) at the beginning of April.
John - whose The Last Hillwalker was one of my favourite books last year - decided to spend a winter learning more about the wildlife and other nature of the mountains he has so often climbed. He freely admits he was a total novice, and had never really paid much attention to anything but the climbing until now.
He spends a lot of time in bothies, and goes out looking for otters, pine martens, eagles, beavers, mountain hares and other threatened species. He rarely finds what he’s looking for, but he perseveres, and along the way enlists the help of people from Scottish Natural Heritage. He also goes on a one day wildlife cruise from the Isle of Mull, in the hope of seeing a whale for the first time. I have seen whales come into the bay outside St John’s in Newfoundland; they are amazing creatures.
John talks about the decimation of vast swathes of the Highlands in favour of shooting estates (on which deer are allowed to breed unchecked, and everything is done to protect the grouse - anything that may prey on them or eat their food is ruthlessly shot, just so that rich men can pay a fortune to shoot these very birds a few weeks later) and how this has led to the near extinction of mountain hares, and did lead to the total extinction of Scottish beavers, though they have now been reintroduced. It’s a similar story with sea eagles, though they have now been successfully reintroduced on the West coast and the islands. He discusses the conflicting interests of farmers and wildlife enthusiasts, and how SNH has done so much work on Tayside to bring everyone round the table re the proposed beaver project, as this is the only way it is going to succeed (the issues being that the beavers are very good indeed for flood management, but their actions tend to flood some of the most fertile riverside farming land too.)
As the winter moves on, there are rumours of a new virus coming from China. John gradually realises how much this is going to affect his outdoor life - by March 2020 lockdown has been imposed, and he is stuck in his flat in central Inverness, and only allowed to walk around the city. Bothys are all closed (he does understand why - these places are open to all comers, and everyone sleeps in the same room, with almost no facilities.)
It’s a short book and a wonderful read. It’s not without humour either, as John is periodically visited by his two old schoolfriends (who both feature in The Last Hillwalker) and longtime climbing companions, - one in particular is stuck in the 1970s, refusing to have a mobile phone, a computer or even a driving licence; he turns up in the Highlands having been on the packed train with his vast 1970s rucksack, sticking from the top of which is his ancient ice-pick. The train staff have refused to let him board, and eventually called the Transport Police. They seem to have been beaten into submission by Martin’s refusal to back down, as he has been allowed to continue on his way unhindered.
Although John does write quite a bit about the effects of climate change and poor land management on the Highlands & their wildlife, he manages to find some reasons to be optimistic. One new landowner, Dutchman Andres Povlsen (who was born in the Faroe Islands) bought Glen Feshie in 2006. He was going to use it as a shooting estate just like all the others, but the estate manager took him on a tour of his new property and told him all about ‘rewilding’ and other, better, ways to manage the estate. Amazingly, Povlsen not only listened but agreed, and now the estate is being used for other things, and nature is coming back. Also, on his pre-Covid travels John meets two separate young couples staying in the bothies. Both are hugely enthusiastic about respecting nature and rewilding the land, and are, he says, much more knowledgeable that he was at their age - he is encouraged to think that the younger generations will understand the need to protect and nurture nature and to repair all the wrongs we have inflicted.
What’s everyone else reading?
We’ve just had a great walk at the Forestry Commission land at Durris, with fabulous views right across Deeside and to the north. Hardly anyone there, whereas I know most of the National Trust for Scotland properties and various other better known places with be heaving already (and it’s not even Easter yet...that’s when all the tea rooms usually open).
My excitement for the coming week will be finally getting my first vaccination on Thursday, when it seems our entire area has been invited in. I have no hesitation whatsoever in getting vaccinated, I am just hugely grateful to all the scientists and medical staff who have made this possible.
Have a good weekend all!
Rosemary
