A LENGTHY AFFAIR WITH TORRIDON

Forced to stay at home for a few days with a cold, I now find the time to write concerning Polly Pullar’s essay on the Torridon area [In Torridon we trust, Scottish Field, October 2017].

As a German student of environmental protection in the early 1990s, I spent six months in the Torridon area in 1991 and 1993, which triggered my love for Scotland. I counted trees in the gorges to find out about the growth of the Caledonian pine forest and I weeded the nursery. I cycled Glen Torridon, swam in the burns and fell in love with Loch Maree and the whole area. Finally I wrote my thesis on the effects of walking on dwarf shrub vegetation on the so-called ‘pony path’ at Beinn Eighe.

I made friends and acquaintances in the area, relationships that have lasted for many years. Some years later, I introduced my wife Melanie to Scotland and the Torridon area, and she, too, fell in love immediately.

As often as possible, when we come over for our holidays, we return to Kinlochewe, Torridon, Diabaig and all those marvellous hamlets. We try to stay in touch with the community by eagerly reading the Visit Torridon newsletter, published by Glyn and Pete Meredith, who became acquaintances of ours.

It touched me deeply to read that the area has been in the successful stewardship of the National Trust for Scotland for 50 years, and for half of these 50 years, I feel that I have been a small part of the Torridon community. Joerg Grueber, Marienheide, Near Cologne, Germany