As long ago as 1590, cartographers noted a property on their maps called Dounens. This location became known as Dunans, and beginning around 1725, served as home to the Fletcher clan for over 200 years. Architect Andrew Kerr transformed the Dunans large manor house into a mock castle in 1864. Sadly, this unique and dramatic baronial house was largely destroyed by fire in 2001, leaving only the pre-Victorian west wing intact.

Dunans recently bought back 250 acres of the ancient Fletcher estate adjoining the castle and has started the process of creating a native woodland. Reintroducing native species will increase biodiversity and contribute to ecological sustainability.

Walk the woodland with Charles Dixon Spain and learn how this effort combines the fight against climate change with development of sustainable tourism. The commercial crop of Sitka spruce planted on the hillside 30 years ago has been harvested. The land is now ready for planting of native woodland species, primarily oak and birch. This is not just a woodland, but also the creation of a new temperate rainforest, essential to the ecology of the area – and the world. It is an internationally important environment that only exists in a few places on earth.

Numerous deep ravines that channel rain water are filled with both native ferns and rhododendron – an invasive species brought by Victorian landscapers. All the rhododendron needs to be removed, as they will take over and mask the true story of the woodland.