40 www.geographical.co.uk january 2011 Ancient pine woodland with a lush understorey of heather and blaeberry in Rothiemurchus Forest. Stretching from the River Spey to the summit of Braeriach, Britain’s third-highest mountain, Rothiemurchus is one of the largest surviving areas of Caledonian Forest. It covers an area of about 30 square kilometres and is believed to contain more than ten million trees. The average age of the forest’s Scots pine exceeds 100 years, and some trees are more than 300 years old. The forest supports more than 125 species of bird, 27 mammal species and 400 species of flowering plant