The Lost Fields of Letterellan

How Trees Erased a Highland Landscape

The Scottish Highlands are a land of breathtaking beauty, shaped by centuries of human activity, but also by natural and political forces that have altered its landscape forever. One such transformation occurred in the lands around Letterellan, near Loch Tay, where once-thriving farmland disappeared beneath a sea of trees. This is the story of how reforestation, land policies, and shifting economies erased a centuries-old agricultural way of life.

A Land Once Cultivated

Before the western end of Drummond Hill was covered in trees, the land sloping down to Loch Tay was actively farmed. This area, known as Croit-na-Cullich, was home to fields that had been worked by generations of Highlanders. The fertile land near the loch provided food and sustenance for families, and small settlements dotted the landscape, with communities depending on their crops, livestock, and trade to survive.

The people who lived here were part of the complex landholding system that defined the Highlands for centuries. The land was divided into merk lands—a unit of value used to determine ownership, rent, and taxes. These lands were often worked by tenant farmers who paid their dues in produce, livestock, or labor rather than cash.

The Disappearance of the Fields

So, what happened to these once-thriving farmlands? Why did they vanish beneath a canopy of trees?