Walks | North-West
Beinn Eighe Woodland Trail
Start: Car Park approx 4m West of Kinlochewe
Description:Walk on good paths through Caledonian Pine Forest on lower Beinn Eighe, with leaflet based guide.
OS Map: #19, Gairloch & Ullapool
Multimap: Online Map
This walk takes you through one of the most important nature conservation areas in Britain. It was established by the Nature Conservancy Council to help preserve the natural Caledonian pine woodland on the south-west shore of Loch Maree. The path starts from the car park hemmed in between the Kinlochewe - Gairloch road and the shore. Though not overly strenuous, good footwear is a wise decision as the going can be wet and muddy. Passing under the road, the path is well marked and take the right fork, and climb up through the trees onto the open hillside. Signs mark different areas of the path, these are explained by a leaflet you can pick up from a coin operated kiosk at the car park.
To the South you have the Flowerdale forest, and to the North over the Loch, Fisherfield Forest. You may notice a distinct lack of one thing normally associated with forest.....trees! Most of the trees in the area were used up in the prosperous iron smelting industry in the area surrounding Poolewe.
The path is a circular one, with a viewpoint overlooking Loch Maree, Slioch and the Letterewe oakwoods. The walk takes you through a variety of scenery which is full of wildlife: the pine woodland is the natural home of the elusive pine marten. Wildcats and otters frequent the area round the west-side of the Loch Maree, and the boggy areas are home to dragonflies. The Nature Conservancy booklet on the Woodland Trails says of dragonflies:
Dragonflies are excellent indicators of the well-being of the environment. In their larval stage they require unpolluted water, whilst the adults need a suitable range of habitats in which to feed and breed. A site holding a range of dragonfly species can be considered to be ecologically healthy. The reserve supports 13 different species of these aerial hunters, a remarkably high number for northern Scotland. Several of these species are nationally rare.
Allowing around 1 - 2 hours depending on fitness should allow plenty time to wander around the trail and take in the sights.