On the Trail of the Lonesome Pine
You’ll most likely remember that last year that a tree by Hadrian’s Wall which featured in Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves way back in 1992 was cut down by some nasty so and so. Well someone has now been charged for the crime. Trees are a highly significant part of our natural heritage and many people described the chopping down of the Sycamore Gap tree as “murder.”A bit strong, but trees bring out emotion. Now in Scotland wildlife charities in the Highlands are working together with the aim of finding and protecting the country's national tree the Caledonian Pine and any remaining pinewoods there are. Now visitors will see immense vistas of firs planted for forestry use since the Second World War, not the native pine and the number of these pine woodlands, pinewoods has declined considerably. Now a trust is setting out to find these rare woodlands and protect them for future generations in Scotland as part of a larger idea to re-wild the nation.
Now these days there is under 2% of Scotland's original pinewood forests left and finding these woodlands, authenticating them and getting them protected is a pretty big job. Sometimes the Tree Finder General , I made that title up, has to consult maps that are many centuries old to find the truly genuine, not planted by people, Caledonian Pine. Once the ancient woodland is identified and verified, the land owners and the trust work together to protect this amazing slice of Scottish history. And then they can be looked after, rather better than the Sycamore Gap tree was, for the nation.
If you like a bit of history, and who doesn’t you’ll be pleased to hear that James Pirie has been around since 1890 and although you can’t count the rings on our bark, we’ve got a lot of tradition behind us. That company story informs all that we do as we look to build on a history of value for money and great customer service. And as it’s Father’s day coming soon, on the 16th June, why not take a gander at the glorious gifts for the guys. For value there is the half price- Kintyre Whisky Tumbler hand engraved with a stag and it comes in a lovely gift box. You can get free gift wrapping too, just tick the box at check-out. It’s a part of our Wildlife range.
