Cornelius Dean aged 2 welcomes Princess Anne with a bouquet

Evanton Community Wood

8th June 2021 

Evanton Community Wood enjoyed a Royal Visit on Tuesday June 8th when HRH The Princess Royal met volunteers and regular users of the wood.

Her Royal Highness arrived in splendid sunshine and was welcomed by the Lord-Lieutenant of Ross and Cromarty Mrs. Joanie Whiteford.

The Princess Royal was introduced to Douglas Wilson, chair of Evanton Wood, who explained how the wood had been brought into community ownership in 2012 and had been a real asset during the Covid19 pandemic. Her Royal Highness saw the 1st Ross-Shire Rangers practising their outdoor cooking skills for their Duke of Edinburgh’s award. The Rangers spoke about how they have used the wood during this time to meet weekly.

 The Princess Royal then met Adrian Clark, secretary of the wood, and they walked to the Mag's Wood shelter, meeting the volunteer group on the way.  Adrian was able to update The Princess on the history and management of the wood. At the shelter HRH was introduced to the volunteers who built it and the engineering team who help maintain the paths. This included Don Fraser, lead engineer on the build project; David Smith, project manager; Alan Johnstone, engineer and Patricia Snow, committee member.

 From there, Penny Gray, treasurer, accompanied The Princess to the pond area where she saw the Primary 7 class pond dipping. They had spent the previous week in the woods as part of their outdoor education. Elsewhere in the wood the class were also to be seen shelter building and making art from natural objects. Celina Peoples and Deirdre James, committee members were also present to tell HRH about the work they do to support the wood.

Everyone enjoyed speaking to The Princess Royal and found her to be very interested in their work. Douglas Wilson said, “It was a great opportunity to show the fantastic work that has been done by the dedicated volunteers over many years. We are very lucky to have such a beautiful resource so close to the village, which has really helped so many people during the pandemic.”

Further Information:

Douglas Wilson, 01349 830444

Adrian Clark, 01349 830517  Adrian.clark444@btinternet.com

Photos:   Corin Gray, 07864 900061