A SCOTTISH forest is now home to four of the tallest trees in Britain, one of which is also the tallest of its kind in Europe.
Reelig Glen, near Inverness, has long boasted the famous Dughall Mor, a Douglas Fir that was at one time Britain's tallest tree
But the Forestry Commission Scotland site has been pipped by another Douglas Fir a little further down the hill.
It is almost 218 feet tall, the tallest conifer in Europe.
Giles Brockman, environment manager for the FCS in Inverness, Ross & Skye, said "We've always known that we have some of the finest air and richest soil up here, but we're beginning to think there might be something special about the waters in the Moniack Burn, too!
"It's quite something to have four of the tallest trees in Britain and to have one of those also hold the European title is pretty amazing.
"The glen has obviously provided some protection from the harshest of the elements to give all of these trees a good solid start in life, which has let them come on in leaps and bounds.
"But... trees keep growing so this is an annual championship contest based on how well each tree grows each season: inches do count and everything could be sabotaged by one overweight pigeon breaking off the leading shoot!"
As well as being home to the tallest conifer in Europe, Reelig Glen is also home to the tallest Larch in Britain (157.5 ft), the British champion Norway spruce (157.5ft ) and Britain's tallest lime tree (150.9ft)!
The firs in Reelig Glen, many of which were planted in the 1880s, now form a grove that is the largest concentration of trees exceeding 180 feet anywhere in the British Isles.
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