Swathes of Cairngorms unrecognisable after 12 days of ‘cataclysmic’ wildfires

With large areas still burning, damage from national park’s worst blaze could take decades, if not longer, to put right

It is the jewel in the crown of the Highlands, one of Scotland’s most impressive natural landscapes, but 12 days on from the start of an enormous wildfire that is tearing through moorland and forest, the Cairngorms national park is unrecognisable.

Hectares of blackened land were visible as low cloud cleared on Sunday, with smoke billowing into the air from large areas still ablaze. In the evening, the sky glowed an eerie orange.