On March 18th, David Connolloy of Connolly Heritage Consultancy and Liam MacKenzie of Liam MacKenzie Tree Specialist Services went out to Inveruglas Isle.  All of the tree cuts recommended by Historic Environment Scotland were reviewed. Based on the on-site evaluation and the joint expertise of the team, a number of adjustments were made to the cutting plan and the method of operations.  We are now ready for any minor cutting in May that can be done without disturbing nesting birds and to continue to evolve a conservation plan.  More major cutting will be scheduled for September after the nesting season.

I also traveled out to Elanvow to check on damage from Eowyn.  There were two trees down to the northeast of the tower and several large branches down.  Notably one large branch was down and resting on old yew hanging off the northeast side of the island and we need to get the weight off that old tree.   In 2023, we consciously left the large root balls from two overturned trees in place as windbreaks.   Those have been overturned for at least 30 years and had substantial packed dirt and root material forming a solid wall on the west of the island.  After Eowyn, those root balls are decimated.  It seems they took a good bit of the brunt of the storm.

Based on our relationship from work on Elanvow, HES approached us to potentially do the work they recommended for Inveruglas Isle.  Our proven, Scottish-American team was granted and successfully completed six Scheduled Monument Consents.  We have submitted an application for Scheduled Monument Consent for Inveruglas Isle and are soliciting feedback on the proposal from HES and all interested parties.

We have a visit planned mid-March, 2025.

More to follow.

The Hogmanay Trip was very productive as well as very enjoyable.

I arrived in time to enjoy Hogmanay at The Village Inn in Arrochar followed by a relaxing New Year's Day.  I had very enjoyable walks with friends from Arrochar and based the rest of the trip in Helensburgh.

I had a very nice lunch with the Duncans and caught up on what's been happening in the area and with them.  They also indicated their support for proposed Inveruglas work.  An application for Scheduled Monument Consent was submitted earlier this month and we hope to do some work in May and September.  Natural Heritage will need to be considered in planning our start.  More to follow on the proposed work.

We also spent good time with our tree surgeon, Liam MacKenzie, and his boys.  With the help of his colleague, Colin, we resawed some of the yew salvaged from Elanvow for use in future sgian dubhs, boxes, etc. (hopefully to raise funds for additional work).   We worked with CBP here in The States and successfully imported a small batch of yew.

I also had a great visit with Paul Hodgkiss of Hodgkiss Designs.  That is always an energizing exchange and we progressed the processing of the elm salvaged from Elanvow in 2013. 

2025 is off to a good start!

Travelling on the 30th and arriving the 31st.

A visit is now committed for Hogmanay through January 6.   We hope to clear the way for future work, process some of the reclaimed Elanvow wood to prepare it for import, work on the Arrochar Heritage site, and continue to contemplate a heritage center location ... as well as to visit our good friends!

Considering a visit for Hogmanay and processing of wood recovered from the island.

We will begin preparing the application for Scheduled Monument Consent for initial work on Inveruglas Isle.   This will allow the teams to move quickly to meet any schedule requirements if there is a decision to proceed.

We would still love to do some preservation work on Inveruglas isle and will continue to work with HES and John Duncan to see what might be possible.   Chris Barrowman of HES has provided their recommendations for tree work and we will begin working on the SMC applications in anticipation of future work.

On-going discussions about potential work at Inveruglas and the Arrochar Heritage site has been restored as-is.  Howard Page and his team are working to identify a new content-management package to make a new incarnation of the site more maintainable long term. There are also on-going discussions about how to triage and manage Macfarlane heritage submissions from around the world.

Just back from Thailand and Cambodia.  The importance of historical preservation is even clearer in our minds as well as the importance of our natural heritage.   No plans for Elanvow or Inveruglas so far this summer.
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