The Native Woodland Discussion Group and the Pinewood Managers' Group combined for their Field Visit this year. After a seminar on the first evening we spent the second day on Conaglen Estate. This is part of the group in a deer fenced regeneration area listening to Raymond Henderson, Bidwells.
Another shot of some of the group, with young birch trees showing in the background
Conaglen Estate's main interest is in deer stalking. Here's a shot of three of the keepers, in estate tweed, who took part in our visit. Reaching an appropriate balance between deer and woodland regeneration is always part of our discussion, and it was good to hear different points of view.
Another of the sites we visited was the Glen Loy Pinewood. Peter Quelch has done some research into the management and history of this fascinating site
There are some old and unusual trees in the woodland, including these oak and pine trees. The combination of pine with oak is a one of the attractive features of west coast pinewoods.
Here's a close up of the trunk of one of these old pine trees. The heartwood of pine trees is rich in resin, which burns easily, and was therefore used for "pine candles". There are records that this means of producing light still happened in remoter parts of Scotland until around 100 years ago. On this trunk you can still see the axe marks that were made when these candles were last cut out.
Colin Edwards from Forest Research was on hand to take core samples from some of these trees. This allows us to count the annual growth rings of the trees, and to see whether there are unusual alterations in the growth pattern that might tell us something about the management of the woodland. First estimate is that this tree is around 300 years old, starting life around the time that the "Old Pretender" was fomenting his attempt to restore the Stewart monarchy.
Finally, here's a video from our boat trip down Loch Sheil. The weather was not beautiful, but the woods and the company were good.
Another of the sites we visited was the Glen Loy Pinewood. Peter Quelch has done some research into the management and history of this fascinating site
There are some old and unusual trees in the woodland, including these oak and pine trees. The combination of pine with oak is a one of the attractive features of west coast pinewoods.
Here's a close up of the trunk of one of these old pine trees. The heartwood of pine trees is rich in resin, which burns easily, and was therefore used for "pine candles". There are records that this means of producing light still happened in remoter parts of Scotland until around 100 years ago. On this trunk you can still see the axe marks that were made when these candles were last cut out.
We spent some time looking at Ancient Woodland Indicator species over the weekend, which include some species of slug, such as this one. It's not a threat to your lettuces, as it feeds on fungi, but it does provide evidence, along with the types of lichen in the wood, that the site has been woodland for a long time.
Colin Edwards from Forest Research was on hand to take core samples from some of these trees. This allows us to count the annual growth rings of the trees, and to see whether there are unusual alterations in the growth pattern that might tell us something about the management of the woodland. First estimate is that this tree is around 300 years old, starting life around the time that the "Old Pretender" was fomenting his attempt to restore the Stewart monarchy.
Finally, here's a video from our boat trip down Loch Sheil. The weather was not beautiful, but the woods and the company were good.
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