Herd heroes Flying Scotsman

Anna Ellis

A SMALL herd of traditional cattle will be helping to bring wildlife back to Northern Ireland’s highest peaks following a devastating fire two years ago.

In April 2021, flames ravaged 720 acres of land in the Mourne Mountains in what was to be one of the biggest fires of its kind recorded in Northern Ireland.

An area once brimming with flora and fauna was scorched, vegetation destroyed, and species diversity reduced.

Since then, the National Trust, which cares for much of the area, has been trialling different methods to rejuvenate the land and bring it back to full health for the plants and animals that live there.

The area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and home to beloved animals including the Irish hare, and rare plants like the pale butterwort and starry saxifrage.

Now, the charity is working in partnership with its tenant farmer to add a herd of Luing cattle to its restoration efforts. The herd of six cows will trample bracken and chomp through the dominant purple moor ­ grass that has sprung up since the fire, providing the space for native plants and heather to return, and creating habitat for newts, lizards, groundnesting birds and hares.

HIS Majesty The King celebrated 100 years of Flying Scotsman and 50 years of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. On Monday June 12, Flying Scotsman, the world’s most famous locomotive, hauled the Royal Train into Pickering Heritage Railway Station as part of its centenary tour of the UK and to mark 50 years of North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

Flying Scotsman, which turned 100 on February 24,2023, had been specially prepared for the occasion: its roof painted white and new lamps fitted to the cab, in line with the tradition of hauling

Looking up

the Royal Train.

Judith McNicol, Director of the National Railway Museum, said: “To have Flying Scotsman haul the Royal Train in its centenary year and in the first year of His Majesty’s reign is a huge honour.

“It takes a dedicated team of people, with important heritage skills, to keep this engine running as it is the oldest steam locomotive on the main line.”

She added: “We are deeply appreciative of His Majesty’s interest in and support for our historic railways and the skills needed to maintain them.”

THE Royal Institutions for Chartered Surveyors UK (RICS) have expressed a more positive outlook for house prices, despite rising interest rates that are expected to impact buyers’ affordability. RICS’s reported that new buyer inquiries, prices, and expectations for the market were all less negative in May compared to previous months.

Despite their positive outlook for the property market, RICS warned that an increase in mortgage rates could constrain the market in the future.

While new buyer inquiries registered at minus 18 per cent in May, the least negative reading in a year, the measure of house prices rose to minus 30 per cent, marking the third consecutive increase.