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Mervyn Knox-Browne obituary: Sheep farmer, Loch Tay weather recorder and gentleman

Mervyn Knox-Browne with one of his beloved collies.
Mervyn Knox-Browne with one of his beloved collies.

Much-loved and revered member of the Highland Perthshire community, Mervyn Knox-Browne has died at the age of 95.

To spend time with Mervyn was to step away from the stress of our media-bombarded lives and to revel in his wit, wisdom and kindness and contemplate nature, the changing seasons, rural life in remote communities, and stories and legends associated with farming the hills and glens.

He could predict the weather from watching the hills and his understanding of the lunar phases, and he knew the Gaelic names of every notable hill in Scotland and Ireland and could translate their meanings.

Tradition

Mervyn, of Milton of Ardtalnaig Farm, south Loch Tay, epitomised the importance of retaining the oral tradition. He loved people, though also valued what others might see as isolation.

Born in Cloghan, Glenfinn, County Donegal, his childhood was spent exploring the 16 miles the family owned on the River Finn, one of the finest salmon rivers in Ireland, as well as 20,000 acres of hill and moor.

Later his father took on Aughentaine, the family estate in Co Tyrone, and Cloghan would be sold.

Mervyn always struggled in his relationship with his strict disciplinarian father who had big ideas for how his life would shape up.

Mervyn Knox-Browne
Mervyn Knox-Browne who farmed in Perthshire, recorded wildlife movements and weather patterns.

He sent him to boarding school at Glenalmond where he missed home terribly, particularly his old keeper friend from Donegal, Donal McGlinn, a real character who chewed tobacco and had a unique take on life.

McGlinn taught Mervyn how to fish and to guddle. They netted salmon and packed them into fern-lined boxes to transport them to the railway station using a wheelbarrow fitted with a bicycle wheel, minus tyre, so that it could run over the narrow-gauge railway line.

Due to his father’s continual pressure, Mervyn had a brief, unremarkable spell in The Black Watch before breaking free and forging a life working on the land.

Sheep farming

He would never return to live and work on the family estate and instead chose the life of a hill sheep farmer, leaving the trappings of his previous world far behind for this is where his heart always lay.

Mervyn worked blackface sheep and beef cattle with his collies and was happiest on the hills with his fellow shepherds.

Patient and kind, many of the younger generations acknowledge his mentorship and its influence on their lives.

Mervyn worked on various farms before securing a full-time job on a remote farm on the Braes of Balquidder.

Marriage

In 1954 he acquired Milton Farm and 500 acres, having asked the sceptical banker in Killin for a loan. In 1956 he married Catherine Ferguson (Kate), and together, they farmed Milton.

He farmed sensitively with nature and planted numerous trees and hedgerows. He also built up a successful shoot and was considered an excellent shot.

Mervyn Knox-Browne taking weather readings.
Mervyn Knox-Browne taking weather readings.

His diaries included detailed records of the weather, and he understood the phases of the moon, stars and planets and their interconnectedness to everything else.

He worried that we were losing these vital connections. He said we were witnessing far more wild, erratic events due to oncoming climate change.

One of his weather-related stories caused amusement when a group of shepherds and their collies regularly met above Balquidder, where the Hydro Board’s rain gauge was situated.

Officials were baffled as to why there was an exceptionally high rainfall in that precise spot until Mervyn pointed out that the dogs were lifting their legs against the gauge.

Weatherman

In 1957 there was an opportunity for Mervyn to take on an auxiliary weather recording station on Loch Tay for the Met Office and the Climate-ological Observations Link.

He kept data on the monthly rainfall, frost, minimum and maximum temperatures, hours of sun, wind speeds, and the densities of cloud cover.

His view of the dramatic Munros of the Ben Lawers group helped him provide data on snow patches too. After 60 years, the Met Office presented him with an award as one of their most valued and longest-serving Scottish recorders.

Nature observation

A former president of the Perth area NFUS, Mervyn also logged the arrivals and departures of avian migrants, dates of the first frogspawn, and critical flowering plants, providing valuable information known as phenology for the Woodland Trust.

His records revealed a story of demise – numbers of swallows, house martins and swifts were crashing; gone were the haunting cries of the curlew and the annual arrival of lapwing, and the call of the cuckoo was becoming rare – largely due to man-made changes.

Like many farmers on marginal land, Mervyn diversified. He was closely involved in the forerunner of The Heather Trust – The Joseph Nickerson Reconciliation Project, alongside his friend, the late John Phillips, assisting him in early tick research.

Heather Trust

He loved his role and later with the Heather Trust, which led to several years as the Scottish and Irish representative of Man Friday Helicopters, controlling bracken and advising landowners on how to carry out effective aerial spraying.

As a founding member, Mervyn remained vice-president of The Heather Trust – the authority on the subject.

In 1999 Mervyn was made an MBE for services to the community and conservation.

During his lifetime, he had 22 beloved collies – all were buried high on his farm overlooking Loch Tay, and each grave marked with a red hawthorn.

Resting with his dogs

In a profoundly moving ceremony appropriate to this gentle, gentleman who loved the land and his animals with all his heart, he was laid to rest beside them, surrounded by the elements and nature in the raw.

You can read the announcement here.