Paul Lister: the 'provocateur' rewilding Alladale

I have always rather liked provocative people, and Paul Lister has given anyone interested in the future of the Highlands plenty to argue about. After making his money through the family furniture business, he bought the 23,000-acre Alladale Estate in 2003 and set about changing the purpose of a traditional sporting estate, preferring to describe it as a wilderness reserve. His wealth gave him the means to pursue ideas that others might have left as conversation, while his willingness to challenge established approaches to Highland land management has attracted both admiration and considerable opposition. Whether or not you share his ambitions, I think that determination earns him a place in our North Highland Hall of Fame.

The wolves have attracted most of the attention, with Lister proposing a much larger fenced reserve in which predators would once again influence the landscape. Realising that ambition would require more land and substantial approvals, as well as addressing the concerns of communities whose lives and access could be affected, so it remains a proposal rather than something visitors will encounter at Alladale. Yet allowing the argument about wolves to dominate our impression risks overlooking the work that has already changed the estate, where around a million native trees have been planted and deer numbers managed to give young woodland a chance to establish. NatureScot’s assessment that the surviving fragment of ancient Caledonian pinewood had returned to favourable condition gives that achievement a significance beyond the owner’s own enthusiasm.

Alongside the woodland work, restoration across roughly 550 acres of damaged peatland has involved blocking old drainage channels with thousands of small dams, helping the ground retain water and encouraging the recovery of peat-forming vegetation. These are changes that depend on patient work rather than a dramatic announcement, and they are what make me want to show guests the place instead of simply discussing the controversy from outside it. We spend so much time travelling through landscapes shaped by earlier decisions about land use that seeing someone deliberately attempt a different future would give us plenty to consider, whether we agreed with every part of his vision or not.

My frustration is the difficulty of making that encounter part of a North Coast Explorer tour. Responsible access on foot or by bicycle offers one way into the country, but it does not provide the same opportunity as exploring a remote estate with someone who can explain the work as we go. Guests staying in Alladale’s lodges can experience it with rangers by four-wheel drive, while I can bring our touring guests close to the reserve without being able to offer them that experience. I would like that to change, because being able to show what Lister’s money and determination have achieved would make a far more rewarding conversation than debating his reputation alone. In the audio blogcast, we explore the ambitions behind Alladale and the difficult questions that accompany them.

To learn more, listen to the blogcast or book one of our North Coast Explorer private tours.