Partner Portrait Black Isle Brewery Farm
Aerial view of farm and fields, Black Isle Brewery, Munlochy
On the gently rolling farmland of the Black Isle, a short drive from the UK’s most northerly city of Inverness, Old Allangrange is a 130-acre oasis for nature recovery. What was once a traditional farm with sheep, cattle and arable crops, the site now hosts a flourishing organic brewery and a highly productive market garden.
At the forefront of the operation is the Black Isle Brewery, which began 25 years ago as the brainchild of owner David Gladwin.
Lawrie Wotherspoon manages what has become Scotland’s largest organic beer producer. Lawrie is passionate about their ecological principles: ‘As a brewery it’s our USP,’ he says. ‘Many customers buy because of our ecological credentials.’
The names of the craft beers reflect the close connection with local nature. But this is far more than token symbolism. The raw ingredients in these beers are pesticide-free and sourced as locally as possible, whilst the by-products are returned to the soil in the form of organically-rich compost.
Livestock on the farm has been reduced to just a few cattle and instead, the farm is growing more organic barley for the brewery’s whisky production.
Arable fields are flanked by rough margins, hedgerows, mature shelter belts and newly planted trees.
In autumn the hedgerows are a colourful mix of hawthorn, blackthorn and elder berries, while thistles, teazel and nettles add to the smorgasbord on offer to local wildlife.
Fresh from their Scandinavian breeding grounds, fieldfares and redwings are among the beneficiaries to enjoy this abundance of food.
To date over 7,000 native trees have been planted at the farm, including aspen, a species which is rare across much of Scotland. Much more planting is planned to create corridors linking existing woodland and hedgerows.
Yellow rattle - often referred to as the meadow maker – is an encouraging indicator species on the farm.
Two mature ponds support breeding moorhen and little grebe, while the surrounding scrub reverberates to grasshopper and sedge warblers in spring.
The farm’s unique five-acre market garden supplies much of the produce for the wood-fired pizzas served at the brewery’s two bars in Inverness and Fort William.
Here there is an emphasis on nature-friendly gardening, where you’ll find rosebay willowherb, teazel and thistles growing alongside onions, kale and cabbages.
Particularly noteworthy are the high numbers of bees present in the garden, which is indicative of the good range of flowers on offer.
Alongside its fresh produce, the garden also provides a space for local children with additional support needs to reconnect with nature, grow plants, plus learn resilience and responsibility for self and others.
To extend the benefits to more children, the charity Go Flourish was set up last year and the first garden created in a nearby school to reconnect children to nature, and support curriculum learning and mental health.
The charity's first Liaison Teacher, who works at the school to enable more learning outside, has witnessed a real difference already. 'Teachers have commented on how settled their classes are in the garden and how the children clearly love learning outside.'
Being outside, the children are also learning valuable life skills and ‘what’s best of all’, says Laura, ‘is their enthusiasm – they absolutely love it!’
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