Newsletter 19
- May 2004
Start from the entrance at Inchloan, where there is an old track behind the car park heading quite steeply up the hill to the south through larch. Bear right at the top and join the forest road from the Cairn mon Earn entrance. Continue uphill and over the watershed, and bear left up the edge of a broadleaf fringe to a plantation, before the road descends alongside the Clash Burn. After 250 metres the summit of Mundernal (324m) is reached - a remote, wild spot with fine views over the Dee valley to the Hill of Fare and Bennachie.
Head north-east from the summit, and follow the openings until you reach the power cable wayleave. Then head north-west along the wayleave, possibly taking a short cut through forest rides on your left, to reach the forest road on the north-west edge of the Durris Forest. Turn left to return to Inchloan.
Distance: 5km Difficulty: medium Surface: mainly off-road – walking boots recommended
Friends Board
If you have any suggestions, or would like to contribute to one of the working groups, please contact any committee member. ((: 01330-…)
Mark Ansell (811371) Mark Hagger (844481)
Molly Atkinson (811363) Sophie Trafford (811488)
John Coyne (844787) James White (811756)
Helen White (811435) (Treasurer)
David Felstead (811884) (Membership Officer)
Kevin Peace (844537) (Forest District Manager, FCS)
www.friendsofdurrisforests.co.uk
Timber extraction 2004
Timber extraction from Warren, Ashentilly and Brachmont Woods is now complete. There are still timber stacks adjacent to the roads. Please take care not to climb on these stacks – movement could cause an accident. We have been assured that the tracks and paths will be reinstated once the timber has been extracted.
Later in the year, there will be some clearfell in a small section of Bruntyairds adjacent to the Elsick Mounth path, and thinning in the Monthammock woods. We will be talking to FCS later to discuss the proposals. We have identified some gains for access and for the forest environment that we hope to see as by-products in both cases. If you have any views, then let us know.
Conservation work in Durris
A beautiful, sunny morning on 25th April saw seven volunteers from the Friends cutting self seeded sitka on the slopes of the hill above Inchloan. All round the hardwoods was cleared of rogue sitka spruce and a thriving area of rowan, birch, wild cherry and beech will now delight passers by on the forest road.
The second spring event is on 16th May when volunteers will meet at the Cairn mon Earn entrance to Durris Forest to tackle similar problems with rogue sitka at a location some two kms inside the forest.
We have now tackled the obvious places around and inside Durris Forest. There remain some areas where useful work can be done inside the forest but now seems to be the right time to consider a change of tack. Would some of the 19 outlying woodlands in Durris benefit from some timely intervention by our volunteer squad? It has been suggested that there are overgrown paths that need attention and that some viewpoints will be obscured shortly unless action is taken. Any suggestions for work are always welcome. Philip Dean 01330-811308
Dry Stane Dyking
Friends of Durris Forests held a two day course on dry stane dyking at the Commission's Kirkton of Durris offices. On Saturday April 10th, after a brief talk and slide presentation on the history of dyking in the area, participants on the course began a practical exercise, rebuilding an early dry stane dyke adjacent to the offices. On the following Saturday, the enthusiastic team of dykers completed a ten metre section of the metre wide dyke, under the guidance of John Coyne.
The course was part of an FDF project to increase awareness of the historical and environmental importance of the remaining dry stane dykes in Durris. At the end of the 18th Century dry stane dykes were being built on the Durris Estate at the rate of 12,000 metres per year. Forestry operations, road improvements, the provision of services, and agricultural changes have resulted in the damage or destruction of many of these wonderful dykes. We would like to see a commitment on the part of Forestry Commission Scotland, local government and local landowners toward the restoration of this important part of the Durris heritage. If we could repair dykes at only one tenth of the annual rate at which they were built, we would make a significant contribution to improving the roadsides in the area.