Wild Scotland Review

James McCarthy's Wild Scotland, first published by the Scottish Tourist Board in the mid 90s, has recently been revised and republished by Luath Press. A book of that title is going to fall into one of two categories: a sumptuous and weighty book full of colour photographs, suitable for the bedside table in the guest bedroom, or a handy guide likely to be found dog-eared in the glove compartment of a muddy car, with the odd tea stain and one or two midges splattered between its pages. Subtitled A Guide to the Best of Natural Scotland you can guess that this book falls into the latter class.

Inevitably, to keep the book handy enough to slip into the pocket of a stout jacket, the design must compensate, and the text feels a little cramped. Just a quibble though, as this is a fine introduction to Scotland's natural treasures and to its beauty spots, both well-known and hidden. The second, lengthy part of the book contains introductions, maps and suggested sites for each of the country's regions.

In the first half, the focus is on individual species and their conservation. There are also essays on sustainable wildlife tourism by environmentalist Duncan Bryden and on wildlife photography by Laurie Campbell, who provides 32 pages of excellent plates, including rare shots of wildcat, corncrake and an advancing capercaillie, which I valued all the more when I read his descriptions of long, patient days lying in bogs, photographing mosses or waiting in freezing conditions for th right shot of the right bird.

The articles on animals, insects and so on in the book are fairly short, but are supplemented by a clutch of panels with lively mini-articles on a variety of subjects: countryside rangers to bottle-nosed dolphins, Scottish ants to the possible reintroduction of larger mammals. The one which took my eye was a panel on the richness of Gaelic plant names (the name for monkey flower translates as 'blubber lip of the stream' while heath milkwort is 'fairy woman's soap'!). By all means, get a copy of Wild Scotland for your glove compartment if you are heading into the countryside to seek out Scotland's wildlife, but there is plenty here to amuse the armchair rambler too.