Film-makers Kevin Macdonald (director) and Duncan Kenworthy (producer) of Rosemary Sutcliff’s The Eagle of the Ninth film are careful about restoring the peat in the Highlands of Scotland, as reported by  BBC News – good to hear, and entirely in character I am sure. However, shame on the BBC for using a photo of US star Donald Sutherland who, although in the film, was not on the Scottish part of the filming. They could have featured UK star Jamie Bell who was!

The article text below:

An area of peatland in the north west Highlands has been restored following the filming of scenes for new movie The Eagle of the Ninth.

A reconstruction of a Pictish village was built at Old Dornie, near Ullapool, for the feature set in Roman-era Britain and starring Donald Sutherland.

It is understood the film company paid for the restoration, which was planned before filming started last year. Protecting peatland is seen as key to fighting climate change.

Directed by Scotsman Kevin Macdonald, the movie follows a young Roman’s attempt to honour his father’s memory by finding the standard of his lost legion.

It stars Sutherland, Channing Tatum, Mark Strong and Jamie Bell and is an adaption of a book by Rosemary Sutcliff.

Protected area

Government agency Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has a strategy for conserving vulnerable peatlands and preventing the release of gases considered harmful to the environment.

SNH has reported that soils in Scotland, such as peat, store more than 3,000 megatonnes of carbon.

It has offered to advise local authorities on lowering the risk at development sites and is also producing guidance on how to minimise soil disturbance during wind farm construction.

SNH said it was not advised of the peatland affected during filming of The Eagle of the Ninth, but added that the filming had not taken place in a designated protected area.

The organisation was notified of filming on nearby Achnahaird beach.