IT is at the heart of the Cairngorms National Park and for centuries it has provided the nation with timber, space to unwind, and a place for its critters to call home.
Now, as Glenmore Forest Park marks 100 years of public ownership, foresters past and present have told of the significant role it has served in Scottish forestry – and the part it has to play as the industry continues to evolve.
A remnant of the Caledonian Forest, Glenmore was purchased from the Duke of Gordon in 1923, only four years after the establishment of the Forestry Commission. In the time since, it has experienced all of the changes in the sector, acted as a training base for Second World War Norwegian resistance fighters, and become both a hub for productive forestry and recreational activity from the public at large.
READ MORE: Glenmore Forest Park pictured through the years as it marks centenary
“My memories were of a busy forest for recreation visitors," said Bryce Reynard, who was a forester at Glenmore between 1973 and 1976. "On one summer's day, there were 1,200 people on Loch Morlich beach and 118 cars along the lochside road as car parks were full.
“Capercaillie were common and I even ate one and saw one on a dormobile roof in the campsite.
“I got on very well with my neighbour Mikel Utsi who owned the reindeer herd and as I kept dairy goats we had a lot in common."
Such was the popularity of Glenmore, in 1935 it was designated the 'Queen's Forest' to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King George and Queen Mary. It also has frequently proven a breeding ground for discovery. In 1971, pollen samples from 4,000 BC, taken from sediment from Loch Morlich, showed that the main tree pollen type was pine, confirming local traditions that Loch Morlich lay within the area of ancient Caledonian forest. Later, core samples from some of the Scot pine trees at Ryvoan Pass found an age range from 40 to 305 years.
Productive forestry dates back to at least the 17th century, with large-scale extraction beginning in 1783. Felling continued into the 20th century. After being purchased by the FC, Scots pine and other conifers were planted to restock the park. However, now Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) plans to remove all non-native species, and replace them with a native pinewood forest.
Alex Macleod, FLS’s North region manager, whose team operates in Glenmore, said: "Timber production from Glenmore Forest Park has averaged around 12,000 m3 a year over the past decade; most of that has consisted of the clearfell of non-native trees such as Sitka spruce and lodgepole pine but also some thinning of Scots pine."
David Jardine, who served as Inverness district manager from 1996 until 2012, said: “I am looking forward to seeing how the restoration of the Caledonian pinewood, which was in full swing during my period of involvement at Glenmore, has progressed in the last decade and hearing about the continuing local work to conserve the Capercaillie."
From the FC being the only public agency working with private landowners in the area in 1923, FLS now works in partnership with many other organisations, including Cairngorm Connect, RSPB Scotland, RZSS, CNPA, HIE, as well as many community organisations and businesses.
Neil McInnes, forester at Glenmore (2001–2007), said: “The word ‘partnership’ sums up memories of my years at Glenmore. The National Park was established during those years and working together with neighbouring landowners, the RSPB at Abernethy and Wildlands at Glenfeshie for example, was a real treat – a truly landscape-scale vision.
“We worked with Swedish and Norwegian Foresters too – on LIFE projects to improve the forests for Capercaillie and other pinewood species.
“I was also lucky to work with the late Jim Gillies, Recreation Manager at that time. Jim had such an incredible talent for communication and created many of the trails still used to this day. Walking those quiet frosty woods at dawn with the mist clearing from the birch and pine stands and the sun rising over Cairngorm is still a memory that I treasure.”
Last week, foresters past and present were joined by Minister for Energy and the Environment, Gillian Martin, to mark the park's centenary.
READ MORE: Foresters past and present come together to mark 100 years of Glenmore
Forester Jack Mackay served the park for two decades, and he said: “The only negative experiences were to do with the small minority of visitors who simply didn’t respect their environment, and didn’t care about the impact of their behaviour on other visitors.
“I also remember the challenges posed by the deep winter snows of 2009/10 that shut the glen, although for some visitors it was seen as more of an adventure.”
Ms Martin added: “It is quite a unique location that embodies the evolution of forestry practice – and the results that those changes have wrought – across the country over the past 100 years."
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