Hindsight: In Search of Lost Wilderness

by Jenna Watt

In 2019, Jenna Watt took part in the stalking of a hind on the vast Highland estate of Corrour: part of an immersive attempt to understand the ideas that lie behind ‘rewilding’, and what it means emotionally and physically to participate in Scotland’s deer cull. Piece by piece and chapter by chapter she unravels the story of that one day spent hunting the hind, interlaced with her discovery that her ancestors were deer stalkers, game keepers and ghillies on a Highland estate, who once took part in now controversial land practices like muirburn, grouse shooting and species persecution.

This exploration leads her into the complex and often conflict-ridden world of the rewilding movement. She meets the ‘Wolf Man’ of the Highlands, who wants to introduce the first wild wolves back into Scotland for over 300 years; a Danish billionaire who owns huge swathes of the Scottish landscape; landowners who are reintroducing species like beaver, ospreys and sea-eagles onto their estates; and a woman deer stalker, who is trying to introduce more women into the male-dominated world of stalking and game-keeping.

In the process Jenna comes to better understand the meaning of ‘wildness’, the shifting baselines of ‘rewilding’, and, in a world beset by climate change and species extinction, how to cope, both as an individual and as a society, with the concept of ecological grief.

Genres: Nonfiction, Scotland

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 30, 2023

About the author

Jenna Watt is a multi-award-winning Scottish dramatist. In 2016, her award-winning Edinburgh Fringe play Faslane was published by Oberon books, now Methuen Drama, which led to her presenting Nukes, Subs and Secrets, a piece of factual television with Hopscotch productions for BBC Scotland.

Reviews

[Greg S · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating personal study of Scottish rewilding. The author clearly delivers facts about the complications of balancing land management, conservation, species protection, and consideration for rural communities. We learn about the reintroduction of the beaver and the proposed (and much publicised) reintroduction of the wolf. But the thread through all of this is the deer.

The deer is the emblematic animal of the Scottish Highlands. And yet it is also a massive part of how we now need to protect those lands. Deer populations have ballooned due to changing landscapes, lack of predators, and their place in game hunting.

The best sections of this book are when the author recounts her experience of going on a deer stalk. Culling deer is a big part of the delicate balance of the ecosystem in the Highlands and Watt goes on the stalk to effectively place herself at the centre of this strategy. Here her experience as a theatre maker come to the fore. The chapters where she is on the stalk in the lead up to and following the moment where she takes the shot are written like a breathtaking thriller.

[Andy Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did I enjoy Hindsight?
Most of the time.
There are a few places in the book where it seems to get a little off-track, almost as if it's trying to discuss too many issues (ecological degradation, neo-colonialism, male domination, the role of women, Scottish landownership...)
But it does come together...I think?
That said, the stalking narrative, that runs through the book is engaging, and the final conclusions reached are, in themselves, revealing.
Certainly worth a read for those with an interest in Scotland and it's part, present and future.

[Jude Conrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

took me a year and a half to finish, but it was well worth it. this book offers such great perspectives on the ways in which we, as people, view and treat the land we live on, how to acknowledge the past and the history of it, how to reckon with the grief of the present, and how to cling to hope for the future.

[Jodie Matthews]

Hindsight is a wonderful piece of non-fiction. It feels vulnerable, and completely rooted in the place, as Watt explores what our relationship to rewilding and what that truly means. She dives into how we use landscapes, historically and currently, and what message we should take into the future.

[Dr. des. Siobhán · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book about hunting and Scotland, our relationship with nature and various ways to control or manage it. Interesting in terms of gender when it comes to hunting. Loved the bits about the specific Scottish areas.

[Katherine Sayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite random - was a gift, but didn’t hate.
Some interesting rewilding stats for sure