A wish fulfilled on Loch Maree

All but one of Loch Maree's islands are vegetated either with Caledonian Pine or with low wet-ground scrub. But one island is strikingly different...

In autumn, Isle Maree positively glows with colour.  Birch, Beech, Oak and Holly predominate on this small but special island.

We landed on a gravel shore below a very old but vigorous Holly tree, which had a fine crop of berries.  The fruits will provide food for birds as winter begins to tighten its grip, but there are stranger fruits on Isle Maree.

On a west facing slope near to the highest point of the island is the remains of a "wishing tree". Coins have been inserted into the tree for hundreds of years in a tradition that goes back way longer.  A famous visitor was Queen Victoria, who hammered in a coin in 1877. The wishing tree on Isle Maree is associated with curative properties, of all kinds of ailments including what as formerly known as "madness".  The tradition is that the unwell person's illness was transferred to the tree by the offering of a coin, particularly if combined with bathing the person in the water from a well on the island or in the waters of the loch.

The tradition also cautions against taking anything from the island, including pebbles in case the illness is brought back out into the wider world.  It may be folklore, but I refrain from my usual habit of taking a souvenir pebble from beaches when visiting Isle Maree.

On a previous visit I found that a storm had brought down a large branch which had broken what remains of the wishing tree into sections; the tree was an oak but is long dead from copper poisoning from all the old pennies inserted into the trunk.  I reported this to SNH who sent out a work party to clear away the branch and place the parts of the wishing tree in one place; they've done a great job.

In the space below the trees oak saplings are beginning to emerge, taking advantage of the space and light.  In time, this sapling or one of its neighbours may become the next wishing tree........

That previous visit had been in autumn 2018 and I left two coins in the tree for two friends.  Douglas had been suffering from a debilitating condition and Allan was in hospital with a very serious illness.  The care both received from the NHS and the medical technology available in diagnosis and treatment of both have been very successful, but maybe, just maybe the wishing tree helped too....

....which made it even more special that Allan was able to visit Isle Maree having spent many months of the previous twelve hospitalised.  Douglas is back in action too, but unfortunately couldn't make this trip, so there's a good reason to visit again.

Bright blue sky above a canopy of gold and green - this was autumn at its very best

Isle Maree has a very old burial ground at its highest point, surrounded by an even older wall.  A chapel here is believed to have been associated with the seventh century abbot St Maol Rubha (from which the name "Maree" is derived).

It's a fascinating place to explore with some very old grave markers and more recent gravestones.  A rich carpet of leaves and moss covers the whole area.  Having spent a very pleasant hour exploring Isle Maree and walking under the tree canopy......

....the sudden view of the oakwoods on the northern shore of the loch seemed ablaze with brilliance - what a day to be out on the water!