Ribbon of Wilderness by Peter Wright sampler

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Ribbons of Wildness_2016_Layout 1 24/05/2016 19:26 Page 30 ribbon of wildness • Its perceived naturalness. • Lack of constructions or other artefacts. • Little evidence of contemporary land uses. • Rugged or otherwise challenging terrain. • Remoteness and inaccessibility. • The extent of the area. To this should be added, the creation of the defined Wild Land Areas in 2014. Having walked the whole Watershed, my direct experience is of frequent evidence of all six of these attributes, in varying degrees and combinations, and of the very largely contin - uous wildness as the quality enjoyed. Clearly not all areas which might be accredited as being wild land would fully match all of these criteria, but this does offer an important yardstick in helping to pin down the principal charac - teristics. The report does acknowledge too that some wild land could be ‘quite close to settlements’ – the assumption that it is to be found in only the remoter uninhabited areas is misleading. This raises the issue of fences and dykes (or their remains which may be of Victorian vintage), ancient cairns, bothies, tracks, trig points, masts, pylons, and hydro-electric installations; many of these are to be found in the major wild areas. But the list of attributes of wild land provides a valuable mechanism for objectively identifying these areas. The John Muir Trust (jmt) seeks to achieve its mission ‘to conserve and protect wild areas of the uk in their natural condition, so as to leave them unimpaired for future enjoyment and study’, through its care for wild land, wildlife, education and adventure. It has done much to establish that whilst people and wild land are inseparable, their awareness and actions are critical. A further major milestone in promoting the care of the natural world and wild places in Scotland was reached in July 2005 when the concordat between snh and the jmt was signed. This was informed by the earlier snh policy on Wildness in the Scottish Countryside on the one hand, and the jmt’s Wild Land Policy of 2004 on the other. It is a seminal agreement between the two key players in this field; one which will serve the interests of wild land 30
Ribbons of Wildness_2016_Layout 1 24/05/2016 19:26 Page 31 introduction appreciation and protection well into the future. It establishes the importance of the concept of wildness and its immense value to those who live, work and play in Scotland. A number of sub se - quent and indeed continuing initiatives serve to ensure that this is an evolving and progressive process notably through the activities of the Scottish Wild Land Group. The classification of land for agricultural purposes offers the next very useful picture in relation to the Watershed, and its suitability or otherwise, for cultivation or grazing. There are seven broad categories of potential land use: Class Potential capability 1 Of producing a very wide range of crops 2 Of producing a wide range of crops 3 Of producing an average range of crops 4 Of producing a narrow range of crops 5 Is improved grassland 6 Is rough grazing 7 Has very limited agricultural value Some 88 per cent of the line of the Watershed falls within either the Class 6 or 7 categories, and therefore has very limited or no agricultural value whatever. About 8 per cent would be deemed to fall within Class 5, and is thus uncultivated but capable of being used only for grazing purposes. The proportion of the Watershed which fits into Class 4 is limited to some 2.5 per cent, which could produce but a narrow range of crops, whilst only 1.5 per cent at most would be within Class 3, and support even an average range of crops. There is no Class 2 or Class 1 land anywhere on the Watershed. This exercise shows that by far the majority of the line of the Watershed is across land which is non-arable and of limited or no use agriculturally. Wild Land Areas (2014) constitute 54 per cent of the Watershed landscapes, 32 per cent Special Landscape Area designation and protection. In gradually building the picture of the underlying factors 31
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Ribbon of Wilderness by Peter Wright sampler

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