Beinn Eighe
National Nature Reserve
Tèarmann Nàdair
Nàiseanta
Beinn Eighe
‘First Among Equals’
‘A i r T h o i s e a c h a i r C à c h ’
Beinn Eighe
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Tèarmann Nàdair
Nàiseanta
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Beinn Eighe NNR lies at the southeast end of Loch Maree
near the village of Kinlochewe. |
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Grannies of the grey slopeOne of the most westerly fragments of ancient Scots pinewood survives at Beinn Eighe on the Glas Leitir (grey slope). Some of its seed trees, or ‘granny ’ pines, are more than 350 years old. But their ancestral roots go much deeper. Scots pines arrived here around 8200 years ago. This was long after the last Ice Age glaciers – which scooped out the hill corries and the trough now filled by Loch Maree – had melted. Ancestors of these pioneers survived the big freeze in a refuge far to the southwest. That is why the native pinewoods in Wester Ross are a bit different from those elsewhere – the ancestors of other pinewoods in Scotland arrived later and from a different source. |
Craobhan aosda na Glas LeitirAig Beinn Eighe air a’ Ghlas Leitir tha tè de na seann choilltean giuthais Albannach as fhaide an iar. Tha cuid de a craobhan sìl còrr is 350 bliadhna a dh’ aois, ach tha freumhan an eachdraidh a’ dol mòran nas doimhne. Ràinig an giuthas Albannach an seo mu 8200 bliadhna air ais. Bha sin fada an dèidh do na h-eigh-shruthan bho Linn na h-Eighe – a chladhaich na coireachan agus an slochd sa bheil Loch Ma-Ruibhe – a leaghadh. Bha sinnsrean nan tùs-chraobh seo ann an tèarmann fada an iar-dheas aig àm a’ mhòr-reothaidh. Sin as adhbhar gu bheil coilltean giuthais dùthchasach Rois an Iar eadar-dhealaichte ri càch an Alba, a ràinig nas fhadalaiche agus à diofar bhunan. |
Sands of time Some 800 million years ago, massive
rivers flowing from mountains in what is now Greenland began to dump
sand and gravel over the ancient bedrock in the area that eventually
evolved into northwest Scotland. Piling up to six kilometres thick,
these sediments became the Torridonian sandstone that forms the bulk
of Beinn Eighe and A little over 200 million years later, this area formed a beach, on the edge of a long-vanished ocean! The slow build-up of sand gave the raw material for the quartzite that today blankets Beinn Eighe’s high ridges and scatters pale screes down its slopes. Around 400 million years ago, major movements of the Earth’s crust shook the area. The rolling, crushing, continent-powered Earth-engine drove a large slice of Torridonian sandstone upwards to come to rest on younger quartzite rocks in places. This reversal of the usual sequence (where older rocks sit below more recent ones) is one of the reasons for Beinn Eighe’s great geological interest. |
Siubhal tìmO chionn 800 millean bliadhna thòisich aibhnichean mòra, à beanntan far a bheil a’ Ghraonlainn an-diugh, air fàgail gainmhich agus morghain air an fho-chreig àrsaidh às an tàinig tro thìm iar-thuath Alba. Bho na grùidean sin, suas ri sia cilemeatair a dhoimhne, thàinig a’ chlachghainmhich Thoirbheartanach a tha a’ dèanamh suas a’ chuid mhòr de Bheinn Eighe agus na beanntan mun cuairt. An ceann 200 millean bliadhna thàinig an ceàrn seo gu bhith na thràigh, air iomall cuain a chaidh à bith o chionn fhada! Bhon doimhne ghainmhich thàinig bunstuth na cloich-èiteig a tha a’ còmhdach dromannan àrda Beinn Eighe agus a’ sgapadh sgàrdain bhàin sìos a sliosan. O chionn 400 millean bliadhna thug gluasadan mòra am plaosg na Talmhainn criothnachadh air an àite. Eadar roiligeadh is phronnadh, tro cumhachd mhòr-roinnean an t-saoghail, chaidh sgealb mhòr den chloich-ghainmhich Thoirbheartanaich a sparradh an àirde gus an do laigh i air uachdar chreagan-èiteig na b’ òige. Dh’ fhàg seo gu bheil suidheachadh nan creag a-nis bun os cionn, fear de na h-adhbharan gu bheil ùidh cho mòr ga sealltainn ann an geòlas Beinn Eighe. |
First among equalsBeinn Eighe has attracted a clutch of accolades: 1951 1969 1976 1978 1983 1985 1988 1996 |
Air thoiseach air càchTha Beinn Eighe air mòran cliù a chosnadh: 1951 1969 1976 1978 1983 1985 1988 1996 |
Wee hairies and big hawkersAbundant midges can mean there’s no escaping the insect life here. But meeting some of the reserve’s hundreds of other kinds of insects – many of them rare and unusual – is much more pleasant. In summer, golden-ringed dragonflies mount feeding patrols along the burn-banks, where they may even tackle wasps on the wing. Other local hawkers include the beautifully coloured blue aeshna. A moth flying in crazy zigzags over the heather could be a male northern eggar, trying to home-in on the scent of a female. The caterpillars of this moth and some other common ones are very hairy as protection against predators. So look, but don’t touch! |
Biastagan molach agus
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Small is beautifulMore than 500 metres up the mountain slopes, a dense cover of tough plants hugs patches of ground. Some parts are like a miniature woodland, with dwarf willow and prostrate juniper rising only a few centimetres above the surface. In others, fir and alpine clubmosses sprout among small sedges. This dwarf shrub heath, as botanists call it, is one of the finest of its kind in Britain. Similar to the vegetation found on the arctic tundra, its presence here shows just how severe the exposure can be way up the Beinn. |
Beag ach bòidheachCòrr is 500 meatair suas sliosan na beinne, tha còmhdach dlùth de lusan ruighinn a’ greimeachadh ri caoban talmhainn. Tha àiteachan an seo coltach ri mion-choille, le seileach Ailpeach agus aiteann sìnteach gun ach beagan cheudameatair os cionn na talmhainn, agus na lurgnan aig garbhag an t-slèibhe a’ fàs am measg lusan beaga seisg. Tha an ‘talamh-fraoich meanbh-phrìs’ seo, mar a their luibh-eòlaichean ris, cho math ri gin de sheòrsa am Breatainn. Tha a choltas ris an lusrach air tundra na h- Artaig a’ sealltainn cho coitcheannta ris an fhuachd ’s a tha e gu h-àrd air a’ bheinn. |
Beinn shapersGaelic speaking clansfolk, Viking settlers, ironworkers, crofters, deerstalkers and foresters are just some of the people who have played important parts in the human story of Beinn Eighe. One of the first major ironworks in the north was founded at Letterewe, across Loch Maree, in the early 1600s. Charcoal from local timber fuelled its furnace. Later, good croftland and benign landlords spared the area from the worst emigrations in the Clearances, which blighted Highland life in the 19th century. Pioneer Corps lumberjacks from Newfoundland and British Honduras felled many trees in the pinewood for the 1939-45 war effort. Now, scientists, teachers and nature reserve managers have come to the fore, using the reserve as a resource to boost understanding of the planet and some of its wildlife. |
Buaidh air a’ BheinnAm measg nan daoine aig an robh làmh mhòr ann an eachdraidh Beinn Eighe bha fineachan Gàidhealach, Lochlannaich, luchd-obrach iarainn, croitearan, stalcairean agus luchd-obrach coille. Thogadh tè den chiad cheàrdaichean iarainn mòra san taobh a-tuath aig Leitir Iù, air taobh thall Loch Ma-Ruibhe, aig toiseach nan 1600n, agus gual-fhiodha bhon sgìre a’ biathadh na fùirneis. An dèidh sin chùm deagh thalamh-àitich agus uachdarain mhatha dìon air an àite bhon chuid a bu mhiosa de na Fuadaichean, a thug milleadh air a’ Ghaidhealtachd san 19mh linn. Chaidh mòran de chraobhan na coille-giuthais a leagail le Saighdearan-tochlaidh à Newfoundland agus Honduras Breatainneach gus cuideachadh le cogadh 1939-45. An-diugh bidh luchd-saidheans, tidsearan agus rianairean thèarmann nàdair a’ cleachdadh an tèarmainn mar ghoireas gus cur ri tuigse mun phlanaid agus mu chuid de fiadh-bheatha. |
Heads and talesPerhaps the goriest episode in Beinn Eighe’s history was in the late 14th century, when the heads of raiders slain by Black Murdo of Kintail were washed up at the ‘Ford of the Heads’, or Anancaun, as its Gaelic name ‘Ath nan Ceann’ has become known in English. Old dairy farm buildings at Anancaun are now the Scottish Natural Heritage Field Station. This is used as an educational and biological studies base for long-term volunteers and visiting groups, and houses the Scottish Natural Heritage reserve and area office. For visitors who would like to find out more about Beinn Eighe, there’s a visitor centre just outside Kinlochewe, which is open Easter to October, and three all-ability trails that are open all year. Other facilities for the public include the two self-guiding Glas Leitir Woodland and Mountain Trails, which start beside the main A832 road. |
Cinn is cinn-chòmhraidh’S iongantach gun robh tachartas riamh ann an eachdraidh Beinn Eighe cho borb ris an nì a ghabh àite aig deireadh na 14mh linn, an dèidh do Mhurchadh Dubh na h-Uamhach reubairean a thug ionnsaigh air an àite a mharbhadh. Chaidh an cinn a chaitheamh san abhainn, far an do stad iad aig a’ bheul-àth ris an canar fhathast ‘Ath nan Ceann’. Sin mar a fhuair tuathanas Ath nan Ceann ainm, agus an-diugh tha an Stèisean Làraich aig Dualchas Nàdair na h-Alba suidhichte san t-seann taigh-bhainne aige. Tha oifis an seo don tèarmann agus don sgìre, agus bidh luchd-saor-thoileach fad-ùine agus buidhnean-tadhail ga chleachdadh mar ionad foghlaim agus rannsachaidh bhith-eòlasaich. Do luchd-turais a tha a’ lorg tuilleadh fiosrachaidh mu Bheinn Eighe, tha ionad-tadhail suidhichte taobh a-muigh Cheann Loch Iù, fosgailte bhon A’ Chàisg chun An Damhair, agus trì slighean a tha freagarrachd do dhuine sam bith. Am measg ghoireasan eile tha an dà shlighe fhèin-iùil air a’ Ghlas Leitir – Slighe na Coille agus Slighe a’ Mhonaidh – a’ tòiseachadh ri taobh an rathaid A832. |
On the trail of the ancient pinesThe Woodland Trail winds up and back through the pinewood for about 11 / 2 kms, whilst the Mountain Trail leaves the pinewood and climbs the hillside. Walking the whole 61 / 2 kms trail takes three or four hours, with stout footwear recommended to cope with the steeper bits. But a trek along even a small part of it can be fun. Scottish crossbills – found only in the Highlands – live here. Buzzards often soar low over the trees, while higher up, you might glimpse a golden eagle or raven. Pine martens and wildcats have dens in the reserve, but droppings on the trail are often the closest you’ll get to them. Perhaps next time you might see one… |
Air lorg nan seann chraobh giuthaisTha Slighe na Coille a’ lùbadh an àirde agus air ais mu 11 / 2 chilemeatair tron choille ghiuthais, agus tha Slighe a’ Mhonaidh a’ fàgail na coille agus a’ dìreadh na beinne. Bheir neach trì no ceithir a dh’ uairean a thìde a’ coiseachd nan 61 / 2 cilemeatair air fad, agus feumar caisbheart làidir is àiteachan cas innte. Ach tha pailteas spòrs an lùib fiù ’s earrann bheag dhith a choiseachd. Tha an cam-ghob Albannach – nach fhaicear ach air a’ Ghàidhealtachd – a’ fuireach an seo. Gu tric bidh an clamhan air iteig gu h-ìosal os cionn nan craobh, agus nas àirde dh’ fhaodadh gum faicear iolaire bhuidhe no fitheach. Tha garaidhean aig taghain agus aig cait fhiadhaich air an tèarmann, ach mar as tric chan fhaigh thu nas fhaisg orrasan na an salchair air an t-slighe. ’S dòcha an ath thuras a thig thu… |
Scottish Natural Heritage is a government agency that works to conserve and enhance Scotland’s natural heritage of wildlife, habitats and landscapes. It aims to help people enjoy this natural heritage responsibly, understand it more fully and use it wisely so that it can be sustained for the future. For more information please contact: |
Is buidheann riaghaltais SNH a tha an urra ri glèidheadh is ri cur am feabhas dualchas nàdarra na h-Alba.’S e amas daoine a chuideachadh gus an dualchas nàdarra a mhealtainn, a thuigsinn ’s a chleachdadh le cùram mu choinneimh nan linn ri teachd. Gheibhear tuilleadh fiosrachaidh bho: |
Top photos: golden eagle, pine marten. ISBN 1 85397 013 1 |
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