Tales of the unexpected

More than sixty scattered islands carry the nearest thing to natural woodland left in Britain, a fragment of the original Caledonian Pine Forest. The wet climate of this area has resulted in blanket bog filling the damp hollows, where occasional stunted pines have taken hold. Black-throated divers, take advantage of the tranquillity of one of Britain's least polluted freshwater lochs to breed here. Isle Maree has a rich history, back as far as an 8th Century Irish monk, St Maelrubha, after whom the loch is named.