A bit of background info first…
Dalbeattie is situated in a wooded valley on the Urr Water 6 km (4 miles) east of Castle Douglas and 19 km (12 miles) south west of Dumfries in Scotland. The town is famed for its granite industry and for being the home town of William McMaster Murdoch, First Officer of the RMS Titanic.
Originally an area of rough grazing and granite outcrops, Dalbeattie forest was planted in the 1920’s, and now extends 6 miles south to the village of Colvend. The northern end of Dalbeattie Forest is known as the Town Wood due to its position on the edge of Dalbeattie town and its popularity with locals.
The forest covers 1100 hectares and is owned and maintained by the Scottish Forestry Commission. The forest itself is part commercial and part recreational and consists of large areas of pine trees planted for commercial use as well as areas of native trees.
Dalbeattie has been described as one of the most beautiful and well managed woods in Dumfries & Galloway – but that was before the latest Forestry operation of selective felling. A friend and fellow photographer first made me aware of the mess that the Forestry Commission had made a few weeks ago. Ian often walks his dog in the forest and he was very upset to find that practically every path he regularly walks had been churned up and pretty much destroyed by heavy machinery. And it wasn’t just the well defined paths that had been ruined – the machines had been taken off the paths and into the forest itself, knocking down any tree in its way.
Ian and I went to the forest on Sunday the 21st of March to photograph the aftermath of the Forestry Commissions selective felling operation. Below are some of the photographs I took that morning…
Main entrance at the north end of the forest.
Ian setting up to take his first photograph of the day.
Looking back to where the previous photograph was taken from.
The forestry machines were driven up inclines flattening young trees and scraping over granite rocks.
One of the main walkways. Near the centre to the right of the track is what remains of an old oak.
Tracks where the machines were driven into the forest.
Looking down from a granite outcrop.
Pine plantation next to one of the main forest paths. This is an area that is very popular with walkers.
Ian and I met quite a few people while we were photographing the forest – all of them were very upset with the trail of destruction that had been left behind. Some voiced concerns about the red squirrel population that live in the wood (Dumfries & Galloway is one of the major strongholds of red squirrels in Scotland). One regular walker said the she usually saw several reds while out walking but hadn’t seen any recently. I did see one but it was well away from the felling sites.
I realise that a forest has to be managed. Trees need to be thinned out, dead and diseased trees removed, but surely there is a way to do it more sympathetically – especially in a wood that is promoted as a place of recreation and beauty. To me it looks like they went at it like a bull in a china shop – with no regard to the way that the public use the forest or to the forest itself.
It is my understanding that part of the operation includes tidying up after the felling, but they have made such a mess in places that it will be many years before the forest remotely resembles what it looked like before.
Update:
My friend Ian Biggar went back to Dalbeattie Forest last week. Some of the photographs he took on that visit are shown below…
A tree marked for removal.
An untouched forest path - note the two marked trees.
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