Andy Summers
Countryside Ranger for Assynt and Senior Ranger for North Highlands
Meet Andy Summers, High Life Highland countryside ranger for Assynt and Senior ranger for the North Highlands. Find out what makes Assynt so unique and what wildlife, flora and fauna you can see when visiting the area..
About me
I have the pleasure of being the Senior Ranger for North Highlands and the whole of the NC500 and I am based in Assynt. I have lived near Lochinver for over twenty years. My wife and I moved here because we are passionate about the wildlife, the landscape, the history and the culture of the West Highlands. We have a small croft in the Clachtoll township and keep a flock of the original black multi-horned Hebridean sheep that used to live here before the Highland clearances. Our croft is on the machair and in summer it is full of wildflowers and orchids. I spend my spare time monitoring our local golden eagles population and looking for whales and dolphins.
Visiting the area
Assynt has some of the oldest rocks in Europe and the dramatic “cnoc and lochan scenery” of West Sutherland is the focal point for the geologists that come from all over the world to see the North West Highlands Geopark. Assynt has the largest area of limestone in Scotland, and is unsurprisingly home to the longest cave in Scotland. In many of these caves, bones have been found of species such as lynx, reindeer and polar bears which once roamed these hills. This limestone area around Inchnadamph is a botanists mecca. Mountain avens, fragrant orchids and globeflowers dance in the wind throughout the months of May and June.
The lochs and lochans in spring resound to the eerie calls of the red and black-throated divers; the moorlands are home to red deer, cuckoos and greenshank. Golden eagles soar around the Assynt mountain tops such as Suilven, whilst ptarmigan eke out a living on the summits. Guillemots and kittiwakes breed on the Torridonian sandstone cliffs at Stoer and ringed plovers nest on the beautiful sandy beaches. Do not forget to visit Stoer lighthouse, one of the best places in the Highlands to watch for whales and dolphins and maybe spot an otter.
For more information about the High Life Highlands Ranger Service or if you want to get in touch to find out about guided walks or events or report wildlife sightings please find our details at our website https://www.highlifehighland.com/rangers/
