A Stroll In St Cyrus
Nick Drainey enjoys the beauties of this National Nature Reserve
YOU can’t beat a long stretch of beach to stroll along while gazing out to sea. When it is backed by dunes and cliffs which are home to a cacophony of birds and an array of flowers tucked into nooks and crannies, you have the ingredients of a good walk.
St Cyrus, just north of Montrose, has all of this in abundance – and it is protected because it has been designated a National Nature Reserve (NNR).
The oldest NNR in Britain, Beinn Eighe and Loch Maree Islands, was set up in 1951 and is still going strong.
As is the case with St Cyrus, there are good trails to walk and lots of information about the flora, fauna and geology of the area.
These reserves are all in place because they contain nationally or internationally important habitats and species which it is best to leave as nature intended.
At St Cyrus, that includes an area of marsh which once carried the River North Esk before a great storm smashed through the dunes in the 19th century, diverting the course of the waterway – brutal maybe, but as nature intended.
This ability to protect the landscape at more than 40 NNRS across Scotland is a vital part of the way we look after Scotland’s diverse environment, and should be praised.
What they can’t do, however, is look at the whole picture in the regions where they are located.
For many years there have been calls in Scotland to take a more holistic view of the environment, from the plants and animals to the people who live in scenic areas.
It is not enough to protect landscapes and places and make them almost like museums of the environment, while just down the road there are intrusions into