Forestry Memories

Closure of Bennachie Forest Office and Stores – For sale in 2015

Unusually Bennachie Forest began life as Tilliefoure Forest in 1945 just after the war presumably with the purchase of some land next to the River Don. In fact from those early days the office, store buildings, forester's and Swedish style timber forest workers' houses were all built at Donview. It was not renamed Bennachie until 1956 when possibly more land was acquired in the Mither Tap and Afforsk areas.

The office in time became the well known Donview visitor centre with toilets and car parks to facilitate visitors to the Bennachie hills or just to take in the view down the River Don. In 1972 in a general programme of country wide amalgamations Pitfichie Forest was brought under the Bennachie Forest name. Pitfichie by this time had been itself amalgamated with Corrennie and Whitehaugh Forests. The enlarged forest unit prompted the building of a new Office and combined store on the old railway line on the edge of Pitfichie forest area along from village of Monymusk in the mid 1970s.

The formation of the Forest District structure in 1984 in which the Forest District administrative centre was set up in Huntly reduced the staff use of the Bennachie Office but it continued as a valuable outstation for many years as part of Buchan Forest District, then the subsequent Aberdeenshire Forest District and then Moray and Aberdeenshire Forest District structures.

The last Chief Forester in charge of Bennachie was Bob Aitken assisted by Bill Gordon as Head Forester who lived in Kemnay. Brian Stanger followed Bill Gordon as Head Forester in the new Forest District set up taking charge of the substantial harvesting programme in Bennachie and also Tornashean. He was joined by Kenny Stuart who looked after the restocking and any new planting in the same areas. Some staff names from the 1970s and early 80s are recalled as;
Grant Farquhar - Wildlife Ranger (Followed by Derek Wedderburn)
Louis Sim - Forwarder Operator
Sandy Walker - Harvesting feller
Steven Grant - Harvesting Feller
Jim MacNaughton - Forest Craftsman (Kemnay?)
Bob Taylor - Forest Craftsman (Bogside, Whitehaugh)
Jimmy Watson - Forest Craftsman (Broadbog Croft, Whitehaugh)
Jim Taylor - Forest Craftsman (Tilliefourie)
Bill Gerrie - Forest Craftsman (Tilliefourie)
Winnie Lawie - Forest Clerk (last one at Bennachie Forest)
George Wink - Forest Craftsman also Marking team

Hamish Seaton is believed to have been the last forester at Corrennie Forest before it amalgamated with Bennachie.

But any more names from these earlier days would be very welcome.

Featured in the-is photographs are some of the forest staff who used the office for periods from the late 1990s onwards. From the left are:

Brian Stacey – Based in Huntly Office
Frank Tomlinson
Mick Bestwick – Former Forest Craftsman at Bennachie
Louise Simpson – Recreation and Conservation Ranger based at Bennachie
Jackie Cumberbirch – recreation Ranger based at Bennachie
Bottom photo image – in place of Jackie is Norman Davidson former District Manager Buchan and Aberdeenshire Forest Districts.

Download Large Version (1.1MB)

Groups: Buildings in Forests, Forestry Areas, Groups of people, Northeast Scotland

3 Comments