Nature reserve status for 500m-year-old crag

WITH 500 million years of history to tell, Knockan Crag has long been internationally renowned as one of the world’s foremost sites for geologists.

Now the site, 12 miles north of Ullapool, will be further recognised after it officially became Scotland’s newest national nature reserve (NNR) yesterday .

The dramatic Wester Ross landmark was formed when subsurface forces pushed older rocks upwards and westwards over younger rocks - an episode known as the Moine Thrust - to form the Caledonian mountain belt which ran through what we now call Norway, Scotland, Ireland and the eastern United States.

Knockan Crag is owned by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its geological significance. For the last 40 years it has been part of the much larger Inverpolly National Nature Reserve.

But an SNH review of all NNRs across Scotland resulted in the declaration of the Inverpolly NNR, although the SNH board decided to declare Knockan Crag as a NNR in its own right.

In 2000, state of the art interpretation, including interactive models and a multi-lingual CD ROM, was installed at Knockan, as part of a 680,000 project. The agency is now launching an environmental education pack in Gaelic and English.

Iain Muir, a local member of SNH’s north areas board, said: "I am delighted that Knockan Crag is becoming a National Nature Reserve in its own right.

"This is a truly magnificent site and with its internationally important geology and outstanding geological interpretation and visitor facilities, it is a real asset to the area.

"The new schools pack takes this a stage further by inviting teachers to use the site more formally in the teaching curriculum."

In addition to Inverpolly, the NNR review has resulted in the declaration of six other NNRs in north Highland. These are Achanarras Quarry, Dunnet Links, Gualin, Invernaver, Mound Alderwoods and Strathy Bogs.