Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
: ) is a hill lying to the west of the village of
Aviemore
Aviemore (; gd, An Aghaidh Mhòr ) is a town and tourist resort, situated within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area, within the Highland council area. The town is popul ...
in
Strathspey Strathspey may refer to one of the following:
* Strathspey, Scotland, an area in the Highlands of Scotland
* Strathspey Camanachd
Strathspey Camanachd is a shinty club based in Grantown-on-Spey, Strathspey, Scotland, currently competing in the ...
, in the central
Highlands
Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau.
Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to:
Places Albania
* Dukagjin Highlands
Armenia
* Armenian Highlands
Australia
*Sou ...
of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
NatureScot
NatureScot ( gd, NàdarAlba), which was formerly known as Scottish Natural Heritage, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for the country's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and ...
through a lease from Reidhaven Estate.The Story of Craigellachie National Nature Reserve. p. 2. The reserve covers 257 hectares on the eastern slopes of the
Monadhliath
The Monadhliath Mountains , or Monadh Liath, are a range of mountains in Scotland. Monadh Liath is Scottish Gaelic, and means "grey mountain range". Running in a northeast to southwest direction, it lies on the western side of Strathspey, to the we ...
range of hills, lying between 225 and 535 m above sea level.The Story of Craigellachie National Nature Reserve. p. 1. It is dominated by birkwood (
birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...
woodland), being one of the largest remaining areas of this type of habitat on
Speyside Speyside can refer to:
* Speyside, Ontario, a settlement in Ontario
* Strathspey, Scotland, the famous whisky producing region by the River Spey
** Speyside single malts, the type of whisky produced in Strathspey
* Speyside, Trinidad and Tobago
...
, and is also of national importance due to the variety of
moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
s present on the reserve. In addition to the birkwoods, the reserve encompasses a variety of other habitats, such as rocky crags,
lochan
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spellin ...
s and open heath with
blaeberry
''Vaccinium myrtillus'' or European blueberry is a Holarctic realm, holarctic species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color, known by the common names bilberry, blaeberry, wimberry, and whortleberry. It is more precisely called common bilberr ...
.
By tradition Craigellachie was an important place for
Clan Grant
Clan Grant is a Highland Scottish clan.
History
Origins
One theory is that the ancestors of the chiefs of Clan Grant came to Scotland with the Normans to England where the name is found soon after the conquest of that country, although some h ...
, being used as a vantage point and as the site for signal fires to gather the clan. Craigellachie appears on the clan's
crest
Crest or CREST may refer to:
Buildings
*The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York
*"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York
*Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...
, and the clan's
Slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political slogan, political, Advertising slogan, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the publi ...
is "Stand fast Craig Elachie!".
Flora and fauna
The birkwood at Craigellachie NNR can be described as "semi-natural", having arisen before the middle of the eighteenth century: the earliest known reference to it was made by mapmaker
William Roy
Major-General William Roy (4 May 17261 July 1790) was a Scottish military engineer, surveyor, and antiquarian. He was an innovator who applied new scientific discoveries and newly emerging technologies to the accurate geodetic mapping of Gr ...
in 1750.The Story of Craigellachie National Nature Reserve. p. 8. Many of the birch trees are around 100 years old, and are almost entirely
silver birch
''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found a ...
, although some
downy birch
''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...
is found in areas with poorly drained,
peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...
y soils. Other tree found at the reserve include
aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus.
Species
These species are called aspens:
*'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...
,
rowan
The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus
''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...
,
hazel
The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
,
bird cherry
Bird cherry is a common name for the European plant '' Prunus padus''.
Bird cherry may also refer to:
* ''Prunus'' subg. ''Padus'', a group of species closely related to ''Prunus padus''
* ''Prunus avium'', the cultivated cherry, with the Latin e ...
,
eared willow
''Salix aurita'', the eared willow, is a species of willow distributed over much of Europe, and occasionally cultivated. It is a shrub to 2.5 m in height, distinguished from the similar but slightly larger ''Salix cinerea'' by its reddish ...
,
grey willow Grey willow or gray willow may refer to:
*''Salix atrocinerea'', a species of willow native to Europe commonly called grey willow
*''Salix cinerea'', a species of willow native to Europe and western Asia, also occasionally called grey sallow
*''Sal ...
,
Scots pine
''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...
and
juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...
.The Story of Craigellachie National Nature Reserve. p. 4.
The range of habitats supports a diverse range of plant communities, with over 385 flowering-plant types being recorded at the reserve, including nationally-scarce species such as least waterlily,
serrated wintergreen
''Orthilia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. It has only one species, ''Orthilia secunda''. Its common names are sidebells wintergreen, one-sided-wintergreen and serrated-wintergreen. It is also called one-sided pyrola, on ...
,
dwarf birch
''Betula nana'', the dwarf birch, is a species of birch in the family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region.
Description
It is a monoecious, deciduous shrub growing up to high. The bark is non-peeling and shiny red-copper ...
, and bog hair grass. 71 species of fungi and 22 lichen species have been recorded at the reserve, owing to the birchwood habitat.The Story of Craigellachie National Nature Reserve. p. 6.The Story of Craigellachie National Nature Reserve. p. 7.
The reserve provides an ideal habitat for
invertebrate
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
species and is home to a number of nationally important moth species, 13 of which are
UK Biodiversity Action Plan
The United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan or (UK BAP) was the UK government's response to the Convention on Biological Diversity, opened for signature at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. The UK was the first country to produce a national Biodiversi ...
(UKBAP) species. Of particular note are the Kentish glory and Rannoch sprawler, the larvae of which favour young birch saplings as a food source. Woodland butterflies at Craigellachie NNR include
Scotch argus
The Scotch argus (''Erebia aethiops'') is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. In spite of its English name ''argus'', it is not a close relation of the brown argus nor the Aricia artaxerxes, northern brown argus.
Taxonomy
Subspecies include: ...
pearl-bordered fritillary
The pearl-bordered fritillary (''Boloria euphrosyne'') is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae found in Europe and through Russia across the Palearctic to the north of Kazakhstan.
Description
The adult butterfly is orange with black spots on ...
, which is also a UKBAP species.The Story of Craigellachie National Nature Reserve. p. 5.
Around 50 bird species are present, including a number of UKBAP species, such as
spotted flycatcher
The spotted flycatcher (''Muscicapa striata'') is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to Siberia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is decl ...
,
song thrush
The song thrush (''Turdus philomelos'') is a Thrush (bird), thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upper-parts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies. Its distinctive Birdsong, song, ...
,
bullfinch
Bullfinch is a name given to two groups of passerine birds.
True bullfinches
The true bullfinches are thick-billed finches in the passerine family Fringillidae. They comprise the genus ''Pyrrhula''. These birds are restricted to the Old World, an ...
,
lesser redpoll
The lesser redpoll (''Acanthis cabaret'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family, Fringillidae. It is the smallest, brownest, and most streaked of the redpolls. It is sometimes classified as a subspecies of the common redpoll (''Acanthis ...
,
tree pipit
The tree pipit (''Anthus trivialis'') is a small passerine bird which breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic as far East as the East Siberian Mountains. It is a long-distance migrant moving in winter to Africa and southern Asia. The sc ...
,
red grouse
The red grouse (''Lagopus lagopus scotica'') is a medium-sized bird of the grouse family which is found in heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It is usually classified as a subspecies of the willow ptarmigan but is sometimes consider ...
and
black grouse
The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and step ...
. Furthermore, a pair of
peregrine falcons
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, ...
nest on the crags, which can be viewed through a
webcam
A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripheral d ...
in the visitor centre section of the Aviemore Youth Hostel. Mammal species found at Craigellachie include
red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
and
roe deer
The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...
pine marten
The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and parts of Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. ...
.The Story of Craigellachie National Nature Reserve. p. 6.
Visitors
Around 8500 people each year visit the reserve, which is linked to the centre of Aviemore via an underpass beneath the A9.The Story of Craigellachie National Nature Reserve. p. 11. There are four marked trails, three of which provide circular routes of between 0.7 and 1.8 km. The fourth trail, which is 4.4 km long, continues up to the summit of Craigellachie. In 2007 a ‘Mobitour’ system was trialled, whereby visitors could access information about specific parts of the reserve via a mobile phone. The system proved popular with visitors, and has since been extended to cover all four of the marked trails.The Story of Craigellachie National Nature Reserve. p. 12.
Other designations
The national nature reserve forms part of the Craigellachie
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(SSSI), which covers a larger area (380 ha). The site lies entirely within the
Cairngorms National Park
Cairngorms National Park ( gd, Pàirc Nàiseanta a' Mhonaidh Ruaidh) is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Tro ...
protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...