Forest above the sands of Gortenfern – Ardnamurchan
The forest was initially planted by Tilhil Forestry circa mid 1960s and has not been thinned previously. The ground conditions are very variable with rough rocky outcrops interspersed with short narrow peat filled flats. A rough road runs from Arivegaig to the houses at Gorten (Gorteneorn) then through to and beyond Gortenfearn to several more houses. The route is popular with walkers and locals as it leads down to a series of very attractive white sandy bays. The public road through Arivegaig is totally unsuited to large heavy vehicle traffic.
The road within the forest has been substantially strengthened with locally quarried stone between the harvesting sites and the timber loading point at Camas an Lighe. The tree species consists of Sitka spruce and Lodgepole pine with areas of natural birch and rowan. Of note in some locations near entrance gate at Gorten (Gorteneorn) are large needle mounds made by a wood ant species possibly Formica aquilonia but not checked.
The PDF in the link below shows two harvesting sites cleared in summer 2023 and gives an indication of the very variable terrain conditions and tree growth rates. Some of the spruce is remarkable straight with very slight taper. The actual harvesting machines were not seen on this visit.
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Groups: Forestry Areas