Richard Bracken Artist

Cnoc Alasdair, or Mount Alexander, lies between the Caledonian Canal and the river Lochy, and is referenced by historian Donald B. MacCulloch in his book ‘Romantic Lochaber’ (first published 1939).  MacCulloch tells the story of seven clumps of pine planted in the 16th Century by Ewen Cameron as an act of repentance for a long life of cattle stealing.  After conducting a Taghairm ritual at the instruction of a local Cailleach (witch), involving the roasting of a cat in a turf hut, he encountered the Devil (in cat form) who told him to build seven churches.  However it was far more likely, thought MacCulloch, that instead of building churches, Ewen planted trees to serve as a living reminder of his misdeeds.  

Following MacCulloch’s description of the Cnoc Alasdair clump’s location, one can see there are no pines there.  The area is made up of broadleaf species, but quietly sitting in the moss and fallen leaves are the resinous stumps of a previous woodland.  The trees belonging to these stumps - the descendants of Ewen Cameron’s pines, were felled during the First World War, at a time when the national demand for timber increased to an unprecedented level to meet the needs of an industrial war. 

The circular cyanotype images are taken from the point of view of stumps, showing the space the tree would once have lived in and the present-day broadleaf canopy that has slowly grown up to become a new woodland.