Glencoe has been officially recognised as Scotland’s newest National Nature Reserve (NNR).
National Trust for Scotland (NTS) president Neil Oliver visited the site, along with some local schoolchildren, to unveil a plaque which celebrates the status.
NNRs are areas of land set aside to conserve important habitats and species and to give people the opportunity to enjoy and connect with nature.
Glencoe was one of the first places to come under the stewardship and protection of the NTS when it was acquired by the conservation charity in 1935. It is the eighth NNR that the organisation manages, including the UKs biggest, the Mar Lodge Estate on Deeside.
The glacier-carved slopes of the 13,900-acre Glencoe reserve boast eight Munros and a delicate ecosystem of birch woodland, moorland and peat bogs.
Mr Oliver, also an archaeologist, author and TV presenter, said: “Some of my happiest memories with my dad Pat were spent at Glencoe. That landscape is just part of me and my childhood.
“Buzzards and golden eagles fly overhead, snow bunting and ptarmigan crest the high peaks and at your feet bog myrtle, cotton grass, butterwort, sundew and bladderwort thrive. Dig below that and you uncover the dark events of Glencoe’s past.
“It’s a phenomenally rich environment and you can’t help but be affected by it. It’s a unique place of history, nature, and spectacle.”
National Trust for Scotland chief executive Simon Skinner said: “The love of Scotland is central to what we do and there’s no point doing any of this if we can’t share its wonder.”
