Borgie Forest Map — 1st Planting up to Fire
Map courtesy of North Highland Forest District (Click on PDF and then enlarge to see detail)
This map is a remarkable survivor from the 1940s which shows a little information on the first plantings in Borgie Forest and subsequent work on replacing what seems to be failed parts of the initial tree crop. There are many pencil written notes on what remnant areas survived the devastating fire of the early 1940s and other gems such as the ‘first planting on turf in 1927’ and ‘2 knolls ploughed’ and reference to a ‘Bothy’ on the track just north of Dalness.
The author recalls that the area of land was originally gifted by the Duke of Sutherland for use by returning WW1 service personnel for crofting and forestry work. However the details of the conditions of this gift, how the Forestry Commission became involved, where the Dept of Agriculture fitted in and the how subsequent land holding areas changed are not to hand. Any historical details and comments would be very welcome.
As can be seen from the heading of the hand drawn map the original area assigned to the purpose above was 7840 acres and the heavy chain line outlines most of the boundary within which it was estimated 5000 acres were plantable. Looking over the map carefully (See the PDF and enlarge) is appears as though the whole of original Borgie Forest area was planted between 1920 and 1924. There is no indication of nurseries and the one must wonder how this remarkable project was achieved in such a short time spell. The author can only surmise that trees were grown elsewhere in the country and taken north by train and then transported across from Thurso. It is likely at that time, apart form some draining, there would have been little ground preparation and young trees would have either been screefed in (ground vegetation hacked back with a spade or mattock) and /or planted directly into the turf. Any historical information on the above would be welcome as would any information on people and foresters who worked there at this time.
Looking at the annotations and coloured areas on the map it seems that in the late 1920s a programme of work was started to replant failed areas and this extended through until 1941 shortly after which the whole area was burnt and only some small pockets of trees saved. Again more details from this part of the history of Borgie Forest would be very welcome.
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Groups: Caithness and Sutherland, Maps of Forest and Woodland Areas