About Us
Discover the deserted villages, settlements and wartime relics of Scotland's national forests, through a new website and a series of events and activities across Scotland throughout 2009. Walk in the footsteps of the people who lived and worked there, explore the traces they left behind, find out why they left and where they travelled. Stones in the woods tell of clearances, of lives turned upside down, of illicit stills, of wartime defences.... and of ordinary people getting on with their lives.
Our website www.forestheritagescotland.com is the place to start your journey: there are around 50 locations featured, which will illustrate some of the stories behind the ruins. Be inspired to come and explore for yourself, take part in community archaeology activities, storytelling events, ranger walks and historical village life. Share your tale and help bring these settlements back to life.
This project is a partnership between Forestry Commission Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, which aims to enhance knowledge and inspire exploration of the heritage sites on the national forest estate. We are also working with VisitScotland, the national tourism organisation, to inspire visitors whose families used to live and work on our heritage sites to submit pictures and stores about these places. Some of this material, in addition to living on this website, will be placed on a forest heritage wall at David Marshall Lodge, by Aberfoyle, to act as a growing exhibition of the families linked to Scotland's forests. And, in future, we look forward to using some of these stories to enhance the interpretation available at our forest heritage sites.
