16-778: The Carrifran Wildwood is a project by the Borders Forest Trust (BFT) to re-establish native woodland and the associated ecology within Carrifran, a glen NE of Moffat in the Moffat Hills , part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland . The project was initially conceived in 1993 by members of the Peeblesshire Environmental Concern group, aiming to restore a whole catchment area to a pre-agricultural standard. 1995 saw
32-546: A series of footpaths, forestry tracks, canal paths and occasional stretches of road linking Fort William to Inverness. The glen's strategic importance in controlling the Highland Scottish clans , particularly around the time of the Jacobite risings of the 18th century, is recognised by the presence of the towns of Fort William in the south, Fort Augustus in the middle of the glen, and Fort George , just to
48-657: Is Goidelic in origin: gleann in Irish and Scottish Gaelic , glion in Manx . In Manx, glan is also to be found meaning glen. It is cognate with Welsh glyn . Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower than a strath ". Examples in Northern England , such as Glenridding , Westmorland , or Glendue, near Haltwhistle , Northumberland , are thought to derive from
64-625: The Caledonian Canal and the A82 road , which link the city of Inverness on the northeast coast with Fort William on the west coast. The Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway was built in 1896 from the southern end of the glen to the southern end of Loch Ness , but was never extended to Inverness. The railway closed in 1947. In 2002, the Great Glen Way was opened. A long-distance route for cyclists, canoeists, and walkers, it consists of
80-643: The Finger Lakes region of New York State, the southern ends of Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake in particular are etched with glens, although in this region the term "glen" refers most frequently to a narrow gorge , as opposed to a wider valley or strath. The steep hills surrounding these lakes are filled with loose shale from glacial moraines. This material has eroded over the past 10,000 years to produce rocky glens (e.g., Watkins Glen , Fillmore Glen State Park and Treman State Parks ) and waterfalls (e.g., Taughannock Falls ) as rainwater has flowed down toward
96-535: The Grass Roots , written by Myrtle and Philip Ashmole, who were central in the wildwood's development, was published in 2009 and details the history of the project from its inception to future outlook. The 'Survivor Rowan', a remnant Sorbus aucuparia tree, one of the few remaining trees in the glen prior to restoration, was voted Scotland's Tree of the Year in 2020, an award given to exceptional trees nominated by
112-742: The aforementioned Cumbric cognate, or another Brythonic equivalent. This likely underlies some examples in Southern Scotland . As the name of a river , it is thought to derive from the Irish word glan meaning clean, or the Welsh word gleindid meaning purity. An example is the Glens of Antrim in Northern Ireland where nine glens radiate out from the Antrim plateau to the sea along
128-1035: The coast between Ballycastle and Larne . The designation "glen" also occurs often in place names such as Great Glen and Glenrothes in Scotland; Glendalough , Glenswilly , Glen of Aherlow , Glen of Imaal and the Glens of Antrim in Ireland; Glenn Norman in Canada; Glendale , Glen Ellen and Klamath Glen in California , Glenview and Homer Glen in Illinois , and Glenrock in Wyoming ; Glenview , Glen Waverley , Glen Eira , Glengowrie , Glen Huntly and Glen Forrest in Australia; and Glendowie , Glen Eden and Glen Innes in New Zealand. In
144-791: The edge of the Moray Firth , in an approximately straight line to Fort William at the head of Loch Linnhe . It follows a geological fault known as the Great Glen Fault , and bisects the Scottish Highlands into the Grampian Mountains to the southeast and the Northwest Highlands to the northwest. The glen is a natural travelling route in the Highlands of Scotland, which is used by both
160-601: The element glyn ("valley"). Great Glen The Great Glen ( Scottish Gaelic : An Gleann Mòr [an ˈklaun̪ˠ ˈmoːɾ] ), also known as Glen Albyn (from the Gaelic Gleann Albainn "Glen of Scotland" [ˈklaun̪ˠ ˈaɫ̪apən] ) or Glen More (from the Gaelic Gleann Mòr "Big/Great Glen"), is a glen in Scotland running for 62 miles (100 km) from Inverness on
176-536: The formation of the Wildwood Group who then formed the BFT the following year in 1996. No public money was used in the purchase of the 1500 acres, totalling nearly £400,000; instead all funds were donated by private individuals and charitable trusts. The first trees were planted on 1 January 2000, the same day that the land was officially acquired. Over 500,000 trees and shrubs were strategically planted according to
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#1732791214667192-941: The lakes below. Many place-names in Scotland with "glen" derive from the Gaelic gleann ("deep valley"), with some being from the cognates in the Brittonic languages Cumbric and Pictish or from the Gaelic loanword glen in Scots . Some place-names in England contain the element "Glen". Many of these are derived from Brittonic cognates of Gaelic gleann (Welsh glyn ). Note that some place-names in England with "Glen", such as Glen Parva in Leicestershire, are actually more likely to derive from river-names named with Brittonic glan ("shining"). Some place-names in Wales contain
208-521: The management plan in the first 10 years, the majority by annual contractors. Several thousand trees are still planted annually by BFT work party volunteers, primarily around the upper rim of the glen. Work now focuses primarily on the adjacent 'Corehead and Devil's Beef Tub' and 'Talla and Gameshope' areas, acquired in 2009 and 2013 respectively. Together, these three areas in the Moffat Hills are known as 'The Wild Heart of Southern Scotland'. Most of
224-481: The northeast of Inverness. Much of the glen is taken up with a series of lochs , with rivers connecting them. The Caledonian Canal also uses the lochs as part of the route, but the rivers are not navigable. From northeast to southwest, the natural water features along the Great Glen are: The watershed lies between Loch Oich and Loch Lochy. Loch Linnhe to the south of Fort William is a sea loch into which both
240-518: The planting in the glen is now finished and the woodland will take many years to fully establish. Despite this a number of changes have already been seen: 'Carrifran' is thought to at least be Cumbric in the final syllable, likely denoting a raven ; nearby features support this. With 'caer' translating to fort , 'Caer-y-fran' is frequently suggested, translating to 'Fort of the Raven'. The book, The Carrifran Wildwood Story: Ecological Restoration from
256-515: The public. It competed as a finalist in the 'European Tree of the Year' competition for 2021, placing 11th. Glen A glen is a valley , typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine , which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. The word is Goidelic in origin: gleann in Irish and Scottish Gaelic , glion in Manx . The designation "glen" also occurs often in place names. Glens are appreciated by tourists for their tranquility and scenery. The word
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