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Moss-covered tree roots cling to an almost vertical gorge face on the Isle of Skye, Scotland.

Clinging on

Location Isle of Skye, Scotland

The damp conditions of this gorge on Skye means that it abounds with fern, moss, and lichen species. These tree roots, clinging to the almost vertical slope, would have been arresting enough even without every conceivable surface being covered with a lush cushion of moss, making them almost luminous in the shade. It was a challenge getting into the right position to have an unobscured view from the other side of the gorge, but even though I knew exactly what I wanted a photo of, I didn’t rush to get there. Instead, I slowed down and took in every moment of a place that allows you to imagine you have been transported to a time before Neolithic farmers first made their mark on the landscape. Well, there was also the practical consideration that I didn’t want to injure myself in a steep gorge with no phone signal.

This is probably not the type of scene you first think of when you think of Skye, an island much more renowned for its geological wonders, which is what first drew me to Scotland ten years ago. Only two percent of native woodland cover remains on Skye, much of it clinging on (literally in the case of this tree) thanks to being fortunately situated in inaccessible places like this. Efforts are being made to reverse this trend, including by the Uigshader Living Forest Project, which since 2016 has been transforming a former commercial tree plantation by replacing non-native Sitka spruce with native species like rowan, hazel, oak, birch, aspen, and Scots pine. In other words, many of the species that were the dominant trees when Skye had its maximum woodland cover around 3,000 years ago — a peak gradually clawed back since the last Ice Age, before a combination of growing human pressure and a changing climate set in motion a trend which has ended up with the situation we see today.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing a photo from Skye that is not of the Old Man of Storr, the Quiraing, Fairy Pools, or Neist Point Lighthouse. With the efforts of people and organisations like the Uigshader Living Forest Project, maybe one day this will become a more familiar scene on the Misty Isle.

More details
  • Location Isle of Skye, Scotland
  • Date taken 10th November, 2025
  • Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark III
  • Lens EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 35.0mm
  • Exposure details 1/20s at f/14, ISO 1600
  • Keywords
    • Bryophyta
    • Fern
    • Gorge
    • Green
    • Hebrides
    • Inaccessible
    • Inner Hebrides
    • Moss
    • Plant
    • Pteridophyta
    • Ravine
    • Roots
    • SSSI
    • Scotland
    • Skye
    • Tangle
    • Tree
    • UK
    • United Kingdom
    • Woodland