History Scotland Magazine: Review - T. C. Smout, Understanding the Historical Landscape in its Environmental Setting

Understanding the Historical Landscape in its Environmental Setting,

edited by T.C.Smout.

Scottish Cultural Press, Dalkeith, 2002. ISBN 1 84017 044 1. 96pp, 4 figures +17 colour plates. Pb 9.99.

This deceptively slim volume is a must for all - both specialist and lay-person with interests in the cultural and historical landscapes which surround us. The product of a conference at the SNH Countryside Centre at Battleby in Perthshire, it comprises seven papers given by representatives of a broad spectrum of sectors which, at face value, might be thought to have sharply opposed views on how this fragile resource should be managed, who are charged with its protection, or who seek to make a commercial living from its exploitation, all pulled together behind a straightforward explanatory introduction.

The papers offer a rich mix of philosophy and practicality, exploring subjects as diverse as the formation of modern ideas of wilderness and beauty, which have moulded our perceptions of landscape form; through development of government policy and its implications for different users or protectors of the landscape; to technical recording and analysing methods, and a call for historically informed approaches to wetland and woodland management. The views of foresters, farmers, field archaeologists, historians, naturalists and environmental scientists stand side by side, and the areas of collision, neutrality and collaboration are clear to see.

Perhaps the greatest value in this collection is the timely reminder which it gives us that the landscape is not the fiefdom of any one lobby or pressure group, specialist discipline, commercial, public or private body. It emphasises the point that different users and exploiters have multiple perspectives on how this resource should be managed, conserved/preserved and controlled. By offering a platform to a range of constituents who, in the past, have often found themselves in conflict over policy towards cultural and historical landscapes it reveals the complexity of the issues which have caused this friction, highlights particular areas of collision and indicates avenues for future collaboration. The book may not offer a perfect blueprint for future partnerships but, together, its components point to a clear way ahead.

Richard Oram, University of Stirling