The Friends of the Pentlands have planted five arboreta around the Pentland Hills to commemorate John Muir, the Dunbar born environmentalist.
Each contains examples of the most common native trees in Scotland.
Information Panel for the arboretum at West Linton
There is an arboretum in each of the five Local Authority areas that the Pentland Hills extend over:
Swanston (City of Edinburgh)
Silverburn (Midlothian)
West Linton (Borders)
Harperrig (West Lothian)
Carnwath (South Lanarkshire)
History
In 2013 John Stirling, founder and then Chairman of FotP came up with the idea of establishing a small arboretum of 21 native trees in each of the Local Authority areas to promote the understanding and appreciation of our native species.
The arboreta at West Linton and Swanston were established in 2013. The remaining three at Silverburn, Carnwath and Harperrig were established during 2014.
Maintenance of the arboreta is now part of our regular programme of volunteer workdays.
Further information
We have produced a leaflet (pdf version available): “Pentlands Arboreta: Scotland’s Native Trees”
There is also a small booklet about Scotland’s native trees: “Wildwood Legacy: what our native tree did for us”
The arboretum at West Linton during autumn