A brief review of the genesis of blanket peats is presented, together with detailed analyses of basal peats from northern Scotland. Particular attention is paid to local factors affecting peat growth and the problems of sampling and interpretation arising from them. Macrofossil and loss‐on‐ignition analyses of four peat‐mineral interfaces solve many of the terminological problems of such profiles and indicate that interpretations based on field stratigraphy alone are uncertain. Pollen analyses of two profiles from contrasting microtopographic situations show well‐defined vegetational change associated with early peat development. Fully organic ombrotrophic peat is present from 6805 ± 50 BP at one site, following anthropogenic burning fromc. 7500 BP and partial recovery of the open birch woodland. A change from birch woodland toCallunaheath occurs at approximately the same time on a more freely drained site with much later peat development, following further burning from 4890 ± 65 BP. Anthropogenic activity is clearly associated with changes in soil and vegetation preceding peat formation, and the role of climatic factors remains