Nature-first approach sees woodland recovery on Knoydart - John Muir Trust

Four decades of protection are allowing native woodland and wider ecosystems to regenerate naturally on one of Scotland’s great wild landscapes

One of the UK's most important wild places is showing encouraging signs of woodland recovery. Recent field observations on John Muir Trust land at Lì and Coire Dhorrcail on the Knoydart peninsula, north-west of Scotland, reveal widespread natural regeneration of native woodland.

The findings are the latest milestone in the John Muir Trust's long-term work to protect, restore and expand native woodland on Knoydart - one of the most remote parts of the UK, and where the story of the Trust began.

When the John Muir Trust acquired Lì and Coire Dhorrcail in 1989, centuries of intensive grazing had left much of the hillside stripped of native woodland. Today, young willow, birch, rowan and aspen are establishing naturally as grazing pressure has reduced, and natural processes are again being allowed to shape the landscape.

The scale of that change is increasingly visible. When staff recently returned to recreate a photograph taken in 1987, they found the original viewpoint difficult to reach. The comparison offers a striking visual reminder of how protecting wild places over the long term can allow natural landscapes to recover.