A skilled woodworker who made elaborate commemorative benches from historic fallen trees for woodland visitors to enjoy has been commemorated by his final unfinished piece.
Bill Ross, of Ardgay, Sutherland, started making woodland benches in 2015 when an oak tree by the Woodland Trust Scotland’s Ledmore and Migdale Wood was damaged in a storm.
He made a second bench from an historic oak that fell in 2017 and was in the process of making a third when he died aged 76 on Hogmanay last year.
The Woodland Trust Scotland found another expert woodworker, Lee Adams, to complete the final piece in his honour.
It features Mr Ross’s Celtic patterns along with carvings of a gargoyle and wildlife including a badger and a family of hares, and has now been given a place in the wood with stunning views over the surrounding countryside.
Enjoy the ‘wonders of Ledmore and Migdale’ from Bill’s benches
Ross Watson, the charity’s site manager, said: “We are delighted with the results and this bench has now gone into the wood in Bill’s memory.
“Bill was passionate about creating these benches for people to take time to sit and take in the wonders of Ledmore and Migdale. It is great that people will be able to appreciate his beautiful craftsmanship and artistry for years to come.”
Mr Ross worked as a quantity surveyor but had a lifelong passion for woodworking. Over the years he made bracelets and lamps to guitars, furniture, stairways and room interiors.
His completed his first commemorative bench at Ledmore and Migdale Wood, around the village of Spinningdale, on the shore of the Dornoch Firth, after discovering the storm damaged oak in 2015.
For safety reasons, the tree had to be felled and Mr Ross approached the trust to ask if he could have the wood to make a memorial bench for his friend Philip Entwhistle, an entomologist who spent considerable time studying the insect life of the wood, but had died in 2012.
‘Wood was his love’
The bench, festooned with carved insects and other wildlife carvings, was installed at a prominent viewpoint in the wood.
Two years later, Mr Ross set about building a second bench with timber from another oak on the roadside that had to be felled. The 215-year old tree was found to contain a lead musket ball, thought to have entered the tree around 1830.
This bench was installed in the wood to mark the reintroduction of red squirrels to Ledmore and Migdale in 2019, and the seat was placed in the pinewood at a suitable spot for squirrel watching.
His third bench has been made from that same oak tree.
Mr Ross’s sister Win Mainwaring, who lives in Wales, said: “Wood was his love and perhaps his obsession. Fine carving became his passion and he would say it was the thing that brought him the most pleasure and not a little sanity.
“It was his therapy if you like and brought him peace.”
