POPULAR REELIG GLEN WOODLAND WALK REOPENS TO PUBLIC

Pupils of nearby Kirkhill Primary School joined local Forestry Commission Scotland staff at a ceremony, including the unveiling of a plaque, to mark the reopening.

Reelig Glen had to be closed to visitors after last September 7th, when torrential rain flooded Reelig Burn. The floodwaters seriously damaged a wooden bridge, triggered a landslide, damaged some trees and washed others into the burn.

The Glen is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It features a dramatic "cathedral" of exceptionally tall trees and attracts an average 12,000 visitors a year.

For its owners, the Forestry Commission Scotland, and local tourist businesses, the flood was a double blow, because the Glen's visitor appeal had just been given a shot in the arm when one of its trees, a whopping, 62-metre (203.41 feet) Douglas fir, was officially identified as Britain's tallest tree. It had also just been christened "Dughall Mor" (Gaelic meaning "big, dark stranger") by John McKenzie of Invermoriston in a competition run by the Commission and a local newspaper.

Then in December Dughall Mor was named as one of the 100 "Heritage Trees of Scotland" after a year-long quest by the Commission to find Scotland's most special trees, but because of the flood damage, nobody could visit it.

However, it will be business as usual from Tuesday, as Inverness District recreation forester Brian Duff explained:

"We have been working very hard with a local contractor to repair the visitor facilities in Reelig Glen and at long last we can welcome visitors back in. We have built a new bridge, repaired the landslide and, for public safety, built a new section of footpath to divert visitors away from that area.

"The new bridge is interesting because it has been made from an aerial mast covered with wooden decking to a design by the Forestry Commission's civil engineers.

"We're looking forward to welcoming visitors back to the Glen to enjoy the very special woodland experience it offers."

1. Reelig Glen is accessible from the A862 Inverness-to-Beauly road west of Inverness, turning south to follow signs to Moniack Castle Winery. The Glen entrance is before the winery.
2. Reelig Glen was sold to the Forestry Commission in 1949 by the Fraser family, who had owned it for more than 500 years. Its special character today owes much to the efforts of the Frasers, who planned it as a wild, natural garden. It includes a grotto-type folly at the head of the Glen.
3. Dughall Mor was officially confirmed as Britain's tallest tree in March 2002 by the Tree Register of the British isles (TROBI), who remeasured all the candidates with the latest laser equipment. It is about 120 years old, enjoys good health, is still growing, and contains more than five tonnes of timber. It is a Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), a native of northwest North America introduced to Britain by Scottish plant hunter Archibald Menzies.