by Steve Tanham
The tallest trees in Britain are to be found in Scotland, a short distance from Inverness in a quiet valley that links the Moray Firth with the north-east shores of Loch Ness.
Centred on a local peak called ‘The Aird’, the locally- celebrated ‘Tall Trees’ have been threaded with a series of walks of varying lengths. My wife, Bernie, is an horticulturalist by training, but neither of us had heard of the Reelig tall trees. It was about forty miles from where we were staying and too good an opportunity to miss…
We were spending a few winter days in this wild and beautiful part of Scotland in preparation for the Silent Eye’s ‘Macbeth’ weekend (The Silent Unicorn) in June, and came across a notice board that referenced the Aird estate.
Upon arrival we noticed that there are a number of paths through the forest. We wanted to do several things in the day, so chose the shortest one that still included all the most famous of these venerable trees.
This most popular path has recently been extended with an elevated section that forms a ‘switch-back’ to one side of the forest. The river Moniack winds through the park. A new bridge has been added – though the remains of the old one have been beautifully incorporated into the riverbanks.
The effect of the new section of path is wonderful. The original formed an ‘S’ shape through the vast trees. The extension crosses the river and climbs, steeply, curving back on a higher level towards the start of the walk and allowing the sheer vertical scale of the forest to be seen from different perspectives.
Many of the tallest of the Reelig trees have information ‘wings’ that fold out from slots in vertical posts.
The Reelig woodlands comprise a mixture of broad leaves trees and old conifers. The main group are giant Douglas Firs, many of which are over a hundred years old, and have reached over 170 feet.
In the year 2000, the then tallest tree – named Big Douglas – was measured at just over 200 feet. It was declared the tallest tree in Britain. A different Douglas fir in the Reelig forest has now been measured at nearly 218 ft, and is confirmed as Britain’s tallest, and is also the tallest conifer in Europe.
It was late March, and the photographs show that the landscape was still a winter one. We look forward to returning in the brightness of summer.
©Stephen Tanham
Sun in Gemini 
Beautiful – but makes me feel homesick 🙂
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Thank you, Ruth! I can understand that feeling and attachment to Scotland. I’ll be doing more Scottish posts over the next few weeks.
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Reblogged this on Sue Vincent's Daily Echo.
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Thank you, Sue x
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I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post. As a lover of walking in woodland and forests, both your account of the Reelig trees and the beautiful photographs made me want to go there so I shall add it to my list. I have recently done a post on Savernake Forest, which although it can’t boast the tallest trees, it can boast some of the oldest. Thank you for sharing your experience of this special woodland.
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Thank you, Alli. I will have a look at your site, too. Travelling at the moment
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You’re welcome, Steve. Savernake is well worth a visit if you’re ever down this way. Here’s the link to my entry about it: https://medievalwanderings.com/2019/02/25/in-the-wooded-footsteps-of-the-conqueror/
Your blog looks fascinating, and I look forward to reading more. 🙂
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Looks like a magnificent place. I love that old bridge.
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Really beautiful, Alethea. A place for the nature spirits! x
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You had some lovely sight to experience.
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It is a beautiful place, Ken. Probably a lot more beautiful in summer, but the iPhone camera did it’s best!
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So glad you found this magical place.
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Have you been there, Adele?
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I have, a long time ago with my family and brother, who decided it would be fun to swing on a low tree branch, silly fool. lol You can guess what happened.
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There are a lot of trees, there. You could take him back for a re-match? 😎
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good idea lol 🙂
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This is so lovely. So many of these giant trees (I know it is true of our Sequoias and the Redwoods) have lived before the era of Christ, and have lived through fires and droughts, and other natural events that try hard to end their lives. But it is all in vane, and I think perhaps the same things of these trees. I often wonder at the great wisdom that these trees know, and wish that I could somehow learn to communicate with them.
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I agree, Anne. You seem to be in a great ‘presence’ when you are with them. A depth of passivity, which transcends the passive…
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I would say it is a transcendental state of being perhaps. I know that all things on earth are sacred, down to the smallest grain of sand. But yes, it might well be a depth of passivity too. Thank you kindly.
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The right kind of passivity has great power…. 😎
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Hi Steve, Thank you for liking my scribblings. Ah,trees: the guardians of nature….Didn’t know the tallest ones are to be found in Scotland. Husband and I are retired to Spain and I really love the gnarled olive trees that look around a thousand years old..We also lived in Canada for eighteen months many moons ago,and the variety and sheer quantity of trees there is incredible.Thank you.
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I didn’t know, either, Joy, until we went to Reelig. You’ve obviously enjoyed your travels. Spain is very beautiful!
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