The best of times never last long. The dynamic that makes them special, that particular mix of people, place and opportunities is rarely sustainable for more than a few years. Michael Hughes was a zoology graduate living and working in the north-west Highlands of Scotland in the early 1970s, described by Dr John Morton Boyd as ‘a golden age for nature conservation’. Nominally an estate worker based at Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve, Michael’s duties and postings covered a wide range of practical conservation management, wildlife surveys and much more, both there and in the Hebrides. This short book, copiously illustrated with contemporaneous photographs, captures some of the challenges, adventure and camaraderie of that time.