Balmacaan

Balmacaan Wood makes a picturesque backdrop to the village of Drumnadrochit on the western shore of Loch Ness. It was the first wood acquired by the Woodland Trust in Scotland (1984). The wood once formed the policies and gardens of the Earl of Grant’s Balmacaan House, and, like the nearby Loch, it can boast can boast some monstrous credentials. Amongst its collection of North American conifers, there are several giants - a grand fir Abies grandis of 7.6m girth and estimated 50-60m height, a Thuja plicata of 7m girth and 26m height and several Giant Sequoias Sequoiadendron giganteum over 50m in height. To put this in perspective, the tallest tree in Scotland is just under 64m tall! A prominent feature of Balmacaan Wood is Craigmonie, a rocky outcrop capped with gnarled Scots pines, which affords a spectacular view of Loch Ness. Below its cliffs, oak, birch and alder clothe a low, undulating glacial ridge, which - along with the Rivers Coillte and Enrick - forms one side of a triangle bounding the community of Drumnadrochit and its near neighbour, Lewiston. Most of the wood is recorded as Ancient Woodland of Long Established of Plantation Origin (LEPO) , although there is also a core area of 3.5 ha Ancient Semi Natural Woodland (ASNW). The woodland flora is exceptionally diverse, with a significant number of ‘Ancient Woodland Indicator’ species – plants which are usually found only where there has been continuity of woodland cover over many hundreds of years. The wood is part of a major concentration of ancient woodlands along Loch Ness (including, the Woodland Trust’s Urquhart Bay and Abriachan woods nearby), and in Glen Urquhart to the north west. It is contiguous with the Forestry Commission’s Craigmonie Wood, which is managed by Craigmonie Woodland Association. A network of approximately 6km of paths links the two woodland areas, with several waymarked circular walks of varying lengths.