The Nature of Scotland – Autumn 2011 – Issue 13

2
The art of love
In autumn, it's natural to reflect on times past – both recent and distant. This year,
one place in particular has tickled my mood for contemplation in this way.
It's at Glen Finglas – the huge Woodland Trust Scotland estate in the heart of
the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. Near Brig o' Turk, a newly built
viewpoint on the 'Ruskin Trail' overlooks part of the gorge of the Finglas Water.
This is at the precise location (recently rediscovered) where a famous portrait of
the major 19th century critic, artist and social commentator, John Ruskin, was
painted in the 1850s.
The picture, by pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais, pushed boundaries in
its realistic portrayal of flowing water. But it also has a subtext. Over the months
when it was created, Millais and Ruskin's wife, Effie, were falling in love. She
divorced Ruskin not long after the group had left Glen Finglas. It was a Victorian
scandal. And you can reflect on it at the wild Trossachs water where it all began.
Web tip: http://glen-finglas.info
2
Until recently, it was
thought the site of the
Ruskin portrait at Glen
Finglas had been
covered by this
hydro-dammed
reservoir.
3
Some Scottish places
are home to many
types of waxcaps. The
Isle of Canna
(internationally
important) has 18
species.
4
Flocks of pale-bellied
brent geese are among
the superb wildfowl
that attract
birdwatchers to Islay
every autumn and
winter.
6 The Nature of Scotland