The Christie Family
Fishing At Tentsmuir
In 1840 a railway was built through Tentsmuir and in 1852 the ice house was built. This would be filled with straw and ice from frozen lakes. Salmon caught from the sea were stored here to be eaten or sent south by train. There were around 70 fishermen living at Tentsmuir in 1850.
The Christie Family
The Christie family owned Tentsmuir, watch the animation to find out what they did.
How They Changed Tentsmuir
The Christie family introduced red grouse for shooting. Burning heather to create food and homes for the grouse, created large areas of grass and sedge.
In 1906 they flooded part of their land to create the two lochs at Morton for fishing.
The Nature Reserve
Lots of birds came to the area to eat fish from the lochs, and Morton was made a nature reserve in 1954, despite being entirely man-made! It has to be stocked with fish and cleared of plants every year to stop it drying up, so the birds keep coming back.
Have you been paying attention? It’s time for a quick question!
What birds did the Christie family like to hunt?
Click on the question mark to find out!