Culbin Tour Notes circa 1970s
This was part of an archived file box recovered from old shed store at Newton by Malcolm Hobson and Ruaridh Maxwell of Forestry and Land Scotland.
Five pages of tour notes that at one time included a map. The page notes describe the early history of the Barony of Culbin, the storms of 1694 and in later years, attempts by local landlords to plant areas to stabilise the moving sand dunes, in particular by Major Chadwick of Binsness Estate using Corsican pine. The description then covers the Forestry Commission early management using initially marram grass and then thatching with branches.
Tour Stop 1 mentions trees planted in 1969 by PM Harold Wilson and Secretary of State Willie Ross. Tour stops 2 and 3 include a view of the Corsican pine planted in 1888 and the area near Lady Culbin dune and legend of the barony house being covered and later exposed briefly. Later there are stops and mentions of the excavation of a partially buried tree whose stem girth is less in the portion below the sand that that above the sand; the most northerly Corsican pine stand in Europe; a heronry; a fertiliser experiment; market for transmission poles; built wooden groynes on the shoreline; Buckie Loch; a flint knapping site; badger setts; shell middens and the fire tower.
Please see the PDF link below to view the 5 pages.
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Groups: Forestry Areas, Northeast Scotland