This is a nice place to own land, Gran said as they came to a stop on the trail and Elle shuffled around until the compass on her phone was pointing in the right direction.

‘We need to go up in there,’ Elle said, eyeing the dark forest of trees ahead of them. When they had started out she had passed a few people walking back to the reception office, but she hadn’t seen anyone for a while. She was pretty sure there was nothing to be afraid of—it wasn’t as though they were going to be attacked by a wolf or a wild bear … she wasn’t actually sure if Scotland even had wolves or bears now she came to think of it—but the dark forest ahead of her definitely conjured up images of Little Red Riding Hood, and Elle recalled how that story hadn’t ended particularly well—especially for the grandmother.

‘Ah, actually,’ Elle said, turning sideways and taking one step forward into the first row of huge trees just off the track, ‘it’s saying this is your plot. Right here.’

Here? Gran said, sounding doubtful.

‘Yep. These are the coordinates all right. Right, here,’ she said, stepping up to the nearest tree and patting its trunk affectionately. ‘One square metre of prime Highlands property with a massive tree on it.’

Are you sure?

‘Come on, Gran, seriously? Does it matter? It all looks exactly the same. There’s a whopping big tree planted smack-bang on every inch of this area.’ Elle pulled out the little castle figurine she’d bought in an Edinburgh gift shop the day before, and placed it at the foot of the tree. Straightening, she snapped a photo. ‘There you go, Lady Iona: your castle,’ she said triumphantly, with a flourish of her hand towards the miniature castle nestled in the moss at the foot of the massive pine. It kind of looked like an aerial view of an estate, she thought—if you squinted a little and tilted your head slightly, and used your imagination.

Thank you, darling. It’s perfect, Gran said, and Elle smiled sadly. She’d never dreamed she would one day be standing here, back when she’d clicked that buy button on the title website last Christmas. Yet here she was. Although these titles and land plots were intended as a promotional gimmick, to raise money for conservation of the land, it meant something to both of them. And it was certainly an ingenious way to get people to donate money to a cause.