Ravaged

This huge tree, on the north side of Loch Striven, Argyll, has been ripped to pieces by last week's gales. It stands beside another giant which had snapped about seven feet up its trunk, and it looks as if its fall caused much of the damage shown here.

On a beautiful calm, sunny winter morning, it was hard to imagine how terrifying it must have been here just before dawn on that day. This whole wooded area has a drunken look to it, with trees at strange angles, some obviously half-uprooted, others leaning precariously on their neighbours. The road has been cleared of several obstructions, but it will be a long time before the forest recovers.