Carrifran Wildwood

The Rotten Bottom Bow

The Rotten Bottom Bow, found in a peat hag in 1990 by the late Dr Dan Jones, is now on display in the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Later Human Use of Carrifran

People have left signs of their use of the valley in many forms. On the summit of White Coomb are two large cairns, probably dating from the Bronze Age. In several places are small clearance cairns beside open spaces where stones have been removed to make small irregular fields; some of these may be prehistoric, others as late as the 19th century.

Evidence of Mediaeval farming includes the foundations of several buildings and turf banks in the Paddock to the left of the main track, comprising a substantial farmstead. These are possibly related to shieling sites towards the head of the valley where stock may have been kept in a system of seasonal grazing persisting for several hundred years.

In the 18th century more intensive sheep farming developed, and the large stells and other noticeable stone structures date from this period. A small slate quarry high on the east side of Raven Craig was probably active during the late 18th and early 19th century, at a time when mortared stone buildings such as the existing steading to the south of the main road were constructed.

Sheep were probably the primary stock on Carrifran for many centuries, but goats were evidently also kept and were partly responsible for the absence of old trees on the site except on the most inaccessible ledges and cliffs. Some of the goats became feral and - like the sheep - had to be excluded before ecological restoration could begin. After consultation with Scottish Natural Heritage it was decided to build a high stock fence around the perimeter and to move most of the goats to other parts of Britain; others remained on adjacent sheepwalk and in forestry plantations. Cattle were grazed on Carrifran immediately before its purchase by BFT, but the steep slopes led to significant mortality.

Click here to read more.