Tribute to David Merrie: Blairgowrie man who ‘lived breathed and loved' nature dies aged 89

The Courier

14-05-2025

Blairgowrie resident David Merrie, who passed away on the morning of April 9 after a short stay in Ninewells Hospital, is being remembered as a passionate adventurer and outdoorsman who 'lived breathed and loved' the natural world all his days.
David, who was 89, fought old age and failing health with courage and determination after a life filled striding the hills with his binoculars, cycling the glens and many an outdoor adventure.
Fittingly, his final resting place is a natural burial in a Cairngorms birch wood close to the flora, fauna, animals and birds that he so loved.
Paying tribute, daughter Tessa said her father would be remembered 'as a fountain of knowledge especially of birds and the natural world, for his great physical fitness, inventiveness, dry humour, creativity, energy and love for life.'
A passionate ornithologist, he was also an engineer, mountaineer, adventurer, photographer, botanist, gardener, artist, cyclist and an enthusiastic lover of classical music and the arts.
Scottish country dancing was another passion, as was curling, cooking and being a good neighbour and active member of his community.
'He was very bold – doing things that other people might just think about,' said Tessa.
'He was a birdwatcher and a keen mountaineer who did all his Munros.
'As children, he took us on so many adventures – camping and walking in the Highlands and to the west coast. It is a priceless legacy. We loved him very much and will miss him greatly'.
Born in Bristol where he grew up during the war, David's passion for studying wildlife was inspired by his grandad and mum.
Winning a scholarship to Clifton College, his school encouraged his interests in nature too, allowing him to help with the creation of an herbarium.
David and his good friend William took up birdwatching and would cycle up to 100 miles in a day on birdwatching trips.
He went on to study mechanical engineering at Peter House, Cambridge.
David's interest in birds and nature continued to grow. It should be no surprise then that his life was full of trips, expeditions and travelling to explore the natural world.
He first visited the west coast of Scotland, travelling by bus at the age of 20, equipped only with a blanket roll and tarp and no knowledge of midges.
Despite that, he fell in love with the country, moving to work in Glasgow with Barr & Stroud initially. He commuted from Cardross where there was less smog.
In 1963 he met Heddy, a Dutch nurse. She was working in Scotland and staying with friends in Helensburgh when they met in a pub.
They both loved the outdoors. But to be sure, they spent a night in an abandoned eagle's eyrie and then one in a tent on the windiest point of the Mull of Kintyre before he proposed.
They married in Wassenaar in Holland in 1964, going on to have two children. They were well matched, sharing interests, intelligence and a sense of adventure.
David was in Glasgow until 1967 before moving to work with BP at Grangemouth.
The family lived in the basement of Airth Castle for nine months before moving to Dollar where they lived for 10 years. Later David's work took the family to Aberdeenshire.
In the 1970s he was involved with golden eagle surveys, helping to raise awareness amongst landowners and conserve the species.
He also founded the Stirling branch of the Ornithologists Club. He used to give bird talks and lessons to people.
David's biggest project was to build artificial islands for Red and Black Throated Divers, to stop the decline of the population on the west coast. The first islands were built in 1977 and they are still being built and maintained today.
He co-established the North Sea Bird Club which ran for 40 years. Surveys were done of the migrating birds landing on oil rigs.
After Aberdeen he lived and worked in Egypt for 2.5 years, returned to Glasgow for a time.
Then in 1987 they got a cottage in Perthshire, near Blairgowrie, before moving to Craigie where he'd been since 1995, using it as a base to further explore.
He even appeared in The Courier in 2019 calling for an investigation into a 'plague of flies'.
Daughter Tessa said she and brother Arend were grateful to their dad for passing on to them both, and to his grandchildren Izzie and Rory, inquisitive minds and a love of adventure.
'Holidays were enjoyable expeditions, from camping in the campervan to walking in the mountains of Scotland and later Switzerland and The Pyrenees and beyond,' she said.
David's adventures included a seven day trek across one of the more remote parts of Scotland, eating mainly Ryvita, completing 13 Munros and arriving home seven days later, and 7kg lighter.
On another occasion, with a friend, he rowed a rubber dingy across Rannoch Moor, hauling it from loch to loch, capturing sunsets, birdlife and the wildflowers in photos.
On a family trip to the Pyrenees, after trialling the tent in the Cairngorms and plotting the intended route on a map with minimal contour markings, they found themselves unexpectedly on a 1000ft cliff ledge at one point.
David was enthusiastic about his adventures and explorations, and he was supportive too of those of others, including his children.
Retirement and old age never daunted David who continued to adventure with trips round the world.
He cycled his bike until he replaced it with an electric bike at the youthful age of 84, cycling up to 50 miles a day.
He was also a member of Blairgowrie ProBus Club, walking with them until last year.
In this final year of his life, David kept going in the face of pain and discomfort, one day making it all the way up to Pinecone viewpoint above Dunkeld with his walker.
Family take comfort from knowing he lived a full and inspirational life, working hard and passing on to others his incredible enthusiasm for the world around him.
David, who is predeceased by his wife Heddy, is survived by his children Tessa and Arend and grandchildren Izzie and Rory.