It's not just the Amazon that has rainforest you know!
My human has had her nose buried in this book all week.
Gail tells me 'The Lost Rainforests of Britain' is all about how on the western fringe of the UK - that's the rainy part - we have remnants of temperate rainforests which used to covers much more of the country before humans intervened.
And it turns out there's a wee bit of rainforest just across the other side of Loch Torridon from our cottage, on the northern slopes of Ben Shieldaig. We decided to go and explore. This precious patch of woodland is now owned by a conservation charity, The Woodland Trust. Apparently they plan to construct an access path, but for the moment one has to force one's way up the steep slope, over mossy boulders and through tick infested bracken and ferns.
I hoped to see some of the exotic lichens illustrated in Gail's book, but am sorry to report that our nature walk was cut short by a proliferation of the dreaded Highland midges, out in abundance in this well-shaded, densely vegetated and damp patch of greenery (i.e. midge heaven). These tiny biting insects do not bother me, but I cannot say the same for my human...
Anyway, here are some photos Gail took between frantically trying to bat away the arch-enemy of outdoor activity in August in Western Scotland...
We hope you enjoyed our visit to one of Scotland's few remaining rainforests. Gail has promised we will return for a longer look when the colder weather arrives and the midges have gone to ground.
Happy Nature Friday! We're delighted as always to be taking part in the LLB Gang's blog hop.
