Shin Forest — Lairg Village and Dalchork are
Maps courtesy of North Highland Forest District, Golspie and photographed by Norman Davidson.
This map covers some areas such as Ferry Wood and South Dalchork which is shown in other maps. It does however include Gunn’s Wood above Lairg and also two of the Sallachy Woods on the west side of Loch Shin acquired from the Estate of that name.
Gunn’s Wood is shown as being P53 and P57 but with some temporary Compartment numbers 1-6 but no species, Ferry wood as P58-59 but no Compartment numbers (earlier shown as 124-5) and the Sallachy Woods as P63 and P64 with Compartment Nos 228-230 and 239 -240 which slots in with the planting sequences further north in Dalchork, Cnoc Olasdail, Crask and Shinness.
This map also covers the south end only of South Dalchork Forest with new planting years as P59 to P64 in Compartments 138-164+131; 177-198 and further but map does not show the northern end of this forest.
The earlier P58 to P63 plantings have a moderate proportion of Scots pine in the tree species selected, used both pure and in mixture with Lodgepole pine. There is some Sitka spruce and larch and even small areas of Western hemlock (Ts) and Douglas fir. Notable also is the use of Sitka spruce in mixture with Lodgepole pine but most likely the South Coastal variety which would have grown too fast for the spruce. The soils of the forests covered by this map on the whole have quite shallow peat over mineral or mineral soils only and once ploughed provided moderately good growing conditions for the above species if some fertiliser was applied to give the trees a start.
Groups: Caithness and Sutherland, Maps of Forest and Woodland Areas