Deer forest

The deer forest (Gaelic: frìth) is a sporting estate which is kept and managed largely or solely for the purposes of maintaining a resident population of red deer for sporting (deer stalking) purposes. It is an institution and phenomenon peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland.

Typically, deer forests are in hilly and mountainous areas of the Highlands and Islands; and, despite the use of the term "forest" they are almost all devoid of trees - the word is used here in its original sense, meaning an area set aside for hunting, rather than its later association with trees (see Royal Forest). The land is typically not suitable for crops. Most deer forests have large areas covered with heath, in many places peat bogs, marshes, lochs or bare rock, elsewhere patches of grass or other herbage, while plantations of trees of greater or less extent may also occur.[1] They usually extend to 10,000 acres (40 km²) and more, and deer which live there belong to the small-bodied, hill-dwelling race of red deer typical of northern Scotland, which have adapted to life on open hills after the loss of woodland habitat.

Craiganour deer forest

Most deer forests are not fenced or enclosed in any way, and the deer can move freely across large tracts of hill country. Boundaries, referred to as marches, are usually marked by a river, stream, ridge, shoreline or similar natural feature. Hind forests and stag forests are so called because of the tendencies of red deer to form large, single-sex herds outside the autumn rutting time, and most forests hold either a resident stag herd or a hind herd for much of the year.

In deer forest, the term forest is derived from the ancient and medieval use of the Latin word foris - "open" or "waste", to denote an extensive outdoor "waste area" kept as a hunting preserve.[2]

Scotland's deer forests are almost all privately owned and managed, although a few once-distinguished forests such as Torridon and Glenfeshie have moved into semi-public ownership via bodies such as the National Trust for Scotland, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Ministry of Defence, and sporting deer stalking is no longer carried on there.

Some deer forests are retained in the hands of their proprietors, while many others are rented out, either for the shooting season or for a period of years, and in this case may bring a large rental to their owners. A person who rents the ground pays a fee for every stag killed. A deer forest is always an expensive affair, not only for the rent that has to be paid, but also for the number of keepers, guides, watchers, beaters, etc., that have to be employed in connection with it.[1]

A comprehensive account of nearly all the deer forests in their late Victorian heyday is provided by Grimble (1896)[3]

List of deer forests

Aberarder Forest
Aberchalder Forest
Achentoul Forest
Achnashellach Forest
Amat Forest
Applecross Forest
Ardverikie Forest
Attadale Forest
Badanloch Forest
Balmacaan Forest
Balmoral Forest
Balmore Forest
Barrisdale Forest
Beinneun Forest
Ben Alder Forest
Ben Armine Forest
Ben-Damph Forest
Benmore Forest
Blackwater Forest
Boblainy Forest
Braemore Forest
Braeroy Forest
Bunloinn Forest
Cabaan Forest
Caenlochan Forest
Ceannacroc Forest
Cluanie Forest
Coignafearn Forest
Corriehallie Forest
Corriemoillie Forest
Corrieyairack Forest
Corrour Forest
Coulin Forest
Craiganour Forest
Culachy Forest
Dalnacardoch Forest
Dalnamein Forest
Diebidale Forest
Dalnaspidal Forest
Drumrunie Forest
Dundonnell Forest
Dundreggan Forest
East Benula Forest
East Glenquoich Forest
East Monar Forest
Erchless Forest
Fannich Forest
Fasnakyle Forest
Fisherfield Forest
Flowerdale Forest
Forest of Atholl
Forest of Birse
Forest of Glenartney
Forest of Glenavon
Forest of Harris
Forest of Mar
Freevater Forest
Gaick Forest
Garbat Forest
Glenaffric Forest
Glencalvie Forest
Glencanisp Forest
Glencannich Forest
Glencarron and Glenuig Forest
Glendoe Forest
Glendhu Forest
Glenfeshie Forest
Glenfiddich Forest
Glengarry Forest
Glenquoich Forest
Glenshiel Forest
Glenshieldaig Forest
Glenshirra Forest
Glen Strathfarrar Forest
Guisachan Forest
Inchbae Forest
Inchnacardoch Forest
Inchnadamph Forest
Inverinate Forest
Inverlael Forest
Inverpolly Forest
Inverwick Forest
Kildermorie Forest
Killiechonate Forest
Killilan Forest
Kinlochewe Forest
Kinlochhourn Forest
Kinlochluichart Forest
Kintail Forest
Kinveachy Forest
Langwell Forest
Leanachan Forest
Ledgowan Forest
Letterewe Forest
Levishie Forest
Locheil Forest
Loch Choire Forest
Lochrosque Forest
Mamore Forest
Morsgail Forest, Lewis
Moy Forest
Portclair Forest
Rannoch Forest
Reay Forest
Rhidorroch Forest
Royal Forest
Sherramore Forest
Shieldaig Forest
South Harris Forest
Strathconon Forest
Strathgarve Forest
Strathnasheallag Forest
Strathvaich Forest
Struy Forest
Talla Bheith Forest
The Queens Forest
Tollomuick Forest
Torridon Forest
Tummel Forest
West Benula Forest
West Monar Forest
Wyvis Forest

[4]

Notes

Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Deer Forests" . Encyclopedia Americana.
Cooke, Arthur O. (1913). The Forest of Dean. London: Constable & Co. p. 3. deer forest latin waste.
Arthur Grimble – The Deer Forests of Scotland London 1896
Ordnance Survey One Inch maps of Scottish Highlands

gollark: I'm probably just going to proxy it to the random stuff API backend instead of OIR.

gollark: Well, it logs that there *is a request*, not the body.

gollark: Oh, I have a fun idea, actually - add a function to *log* suspicious POST requests instead of redirecting them to internet radio.

gollark: ... yes.

gollark: I'm reading osmarks.tk logs.

References

Deer Stalking Scotland

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[ea-1] Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Deer Forests" . Encyclopedia Americana.

[2] Cooke, Arthur O. (1913). The Forest of Dean. London: Constable & Co. p. 3. deer forest latin waste.

[3] Arthur Grimble – The Deer Forests of Scotland London 1896

[4] Ordnance Survey One Inch maps of Scottish Highlands