It is home to a huge array of wildlife from red squirrels to deer, pheasants and even wildcats.
And now an Aberdeenshire estate has welcomed one of the country’s most iconic animals back onto its grounds for the first time in 30 years.
Highland cows are once again grazing on the landscape of the Glen Tanar estate, near Aboyne, for the first time since the 1980s.
The animals were a feature of the grounds for much of the 20th century when they were considered among the best in Scotland at agricultural shows.
Now they have re-introduced as a “breeding fold”, and the team hope the shaggy beasts will attract photographers to the estate, which is also home to one of Aberdeenshire’s last strongholds of Scots pine.
Jonathan Wilton, the estate’s stockman, said yesterday that the livestock blended in perfectly to the Highland surroundings of the estate, which is situated in the edge of the Cairngorm National Park.
He added: “As a native breed, Highlanders were very much part of the scene at Glen Tanar in years gone by when the estate had a large fold and showed the cattle very successfully at shows.
“We have both red and black coated Highland cattle and they are settling in very well to their surrounds.
“They’ve been re-introduced as a breeding fold, but I’m sure that they will catch the eye of photographers and visitors to Glen Tanar.”
Highland cows from the estate, exhibited by Lord Glen Tanar himself at the Highland Cattle Society’s Oban show in 1961, were named the best in show.