THE past may be another country, as the novelist LP Hartley wrote, but it would be a tragedy if we refused to visit it.

We have been shaped by our history, and it is vital that all, young and old, learn from it.

Like any other country, Scotland's past has on occasion been a bloody one. There have been all too many battles fought on our soil, some more famous than others. We will all know of Bannockburn and Culloden, but what of Pinkie (1547) or Tippermuir (1644)?

The formation of the Scottish Batttlefield Trust is therefore to be welcomed. In recent years famous fields such as Culloden and Prestonpans have come under threat from development plans; there are some battlefields whose exact locations have yet to be pinpointed. It is right that we should protect what we can, both from an idealistic and commercial point of view: the healthy footfall figures at the National Trust for Scotland's visitor centres at Bannockburn and Culloden provide telling evidence of the burgeoning interest in heritage tourism.

The volunteers state that battlefields should be valued, understood and visited by a wide audience and preserved for future generations. It is difficult to argue with that. This is one fight where we can all be victors.