UK's first national nature reserve is 70 years old

Beinn EigheRachel Drummond

Rachel Drummond's image of the Pony Path pools at Beinn Eighe

At a glance

  • The UK's oldest national nature reserve is 70 years old.

  • The designation covers the mountain Beinn Eighe.

  • Set up in 1951, the reserve protects a fragment of ancient forest.

  • The area is home to pine martens and golden eagles.

The UK's first national nature reserve is 70 years old.

The 18 sq mile (48 sq km) reserve covers Beinn Eighe, a mountain in Wester Ross in the Highlands.

It was set up in 1951 to protect an area of Caledonian pine forest - the largest fragment of the ancient woodland in north west Scotland.

The national nature reserve (NNR) is home to rare species of lichen, as well as deer, pine martens and golden eagles.

To mark the 70th anniversary NatureScot, the public body that manages the site, held a photography competition to "showcase its dramatic landscape and habitats".

The winner was Ben Catchpole of Norwich, who spent time at Beinn Eighe as a volunteer, with second place going to Rachel Drummond of Wester Ross.

Ben Catchpole

Ben Catchpole's winning image of Beinn Eighe

In 2019, Beinn Eighe NNR was named the UK's first genetic conservation area.

NatureScot and its scientific partners took the step to protect the unique DNA fingerprint of the area's Scots pine trees - Scotland's national tree.

Beinn Eighe was the scene of a fatal military aircraft crash 70 years ago.

A Lancaster bomber, which had been converted for maritime patrol duties, crashed on March 1951.

All eight crewmen, who were stationed at an RAF base at Kinloss in Moray, died.