Those people living in Scotland, or who have been closely following the debate surrounding the re-wilding of the Alladale Estate by owner Paul Lister, may already be aware of this tv series, which has so far been restricted to broadcast in Scotland. However, “The Real Monarch of the Glen” now comes to BBC2 for national broadcast and starts this coming Friday – 15th August – at 7:00 p.m.

The series follows Paul Lister and the Estate Team (including Estate General Manager Hugh Fullerton-Smith who recently ran the British London 10k for the Foundation and raised over £2,000 for us) as they develop plans and then make progress with restoring the 23,000 acre estate to its more natural state by re-introducing the animals that would have roamed there centuries ago.  This has proved to be a contentious plan, not least with walkers concerned about the loss of right-to-roam on the estate, due to the erection of fences to contain the reintroduced animals.  This week’s first episode deals with issues around the erection of the fence and the arrival of Scottish Natural Heritage for an inspection.

Whatever your feelings on the plan for Alladale, this series will certainly make interesting viewing, particularly for those interested in wilderness and re-wilding strategies.

If you have any thoughts or comments on this or any other wilderness issues, we would love to hear from you.

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