Beyond a mighty wall built by the Roman emperor Hadrian used to be a country called Caledonia with brave inhabitants, wo liked to color their faces and didn’t fancy their southern neighbours very much. In the end nothing changed in a dramatic way and the country is called Scotland today. The blue face paint became the colour of the flag and you still don’t want to argue with a Scotsman.
Scotland is a country of immense natural beauty. When speaking about the wilds of Scotland though it is important to notice, that the human influence on the nature over the last centuries up until today was huge. Before the arrival of humans and the dawn of agriculture Scotland as most of the island of Great Britain used to be covered by dense forests. The need to create new grazing areas for cattle and farming land lead to the burning and clearing of woodland. Additionally wood became an important material for construction, especially from the 17th century onwards with the growing importance for shipbuilding as the island became a major colonial power and ships were needed for trade and war. Though a lot changed and the natural world of Scotland was not left untouched by human hands, especially the north of the country far away from Edinburgh and Glasgow is still very raw and wild. Some impressions.
The Romans used to call the country which we know today as Scotland Caledonia. It was a strange and foreign land with dangerous and wild inhabitants at the Northern end of the Roman world. Two immense walls were built by the Roman emperors Hadrian and Antonius to secure Britain from the blue painted warriors – or “Picts” – living in the northern lands. Also behind these barriers was a country of immense beauty and raw vastness.
In 2018 as in the years before I had the chance to travel the beautiful country of Scotland for some weeks in August. It is one of these special parts of the world which don’t seize to amaze and enchant through natural beauty, historical but lively cities like Edinburgh and the general sense of tradition and heritage, which can be seen everywhere throughout the country. Follow me for a journey to the north!
Michael Hoffman Photography 