Duchess Wood Local Nature Reserve

The Duchess Wood Local Nature Reserve (LNR) is an outstanding example of protected natural heritage combined with local community use for leisure and recreation. It is a protected area of land designated by the local authority because of its local special natural interest and / or educational value. Duchess Wood is the only designated LNR in the Helensburgh and Lomond Area.

Management of the Wood is the responsibility of Argyll and Bute Council, though it has delegated part of that responsibility to the Lower Clyde Greenspace as its agent.

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Duchess Wood

There is a Duchess Wood LNR Committee. It consists mainly of local people and was set up to advise on the management of the Wood and to carry out certain tasks. Its Chairman is Sandy Kerr. Its constitution has not yet been confirmed by Argyll and Bute Council, but the Committee has already started some of its work.

The tasks which the Committee will carry out, in addition to advising on management, are:

Access Group, linked to the Helensburgh and District Access Forum which has done much footpath work in the Woods already.
Forestry and Biodiversity Group, associated with the Forestry Commission and the Helensburgh Natural History Society with regard to tree, other plant and wildlife matters.
Safeguarding Group concerned with practical problems such as litter.
Publicity Group, linked to the Helensburgh Green Belt Group
Education Group, providing materials for schools.
Organisation of occasional public meetings.

What’s going on at the moment?

1. You may have seen that some trees have been felled. This is part of a tree management scheme which we hope will be carried out gradually over time. Preliminary work has been done by the Argyll and Bute Council’s Environmental Task Force and Employability Team under Danny Harkin. They have also done some bridge and path repairs.

Consultants employed by the Lower Clyde Greenspace and the Forestry Commission have recently carried out a survey of the Woods and it is hoped that their report, which covers nature conservation, safety, recreation and other aspects, will lead to funding for further improvements.

Thurgood Bridge

2. The all-abilities path at the lower part of the Wood has been completed as a semi-circle to the car park at the Kathleen Park end and a new bridge has been constructed at the north-east corner of the Wood, linking it to the round-Helensburgh footpath network. This work was coordinated by the Helensburgh and District Access Forum. Funding came from the Forum itself, the ABC Area Committee, Lower Clyde Greenspace and the estate of A.E. (Ferdie) Thurgood.

3. Signposting has been funded by the ABC’s Helensburgh Bicentenary Fund and the Access Forum.

4. Posts with numbers on them mark key points in educational materials designed for schools to use.

5. A separate horse riding route is being developed.

6. New litter bins and dog fouling notices have been put in place. With regard to these, walkers in the Woods are asked:

to put litter or dog droppings in the bins provided
to pick up any other litter you happen to see
not to dump garden/other rubbish in the Wood.

In addition, the FRIENDS OF DUCHESS WOOD has been setup by local residents to support the Council, to assist in the management of the Wood, to provide a safeguarding service and to be a voice for local people in matters affecting the Wood. The Friends is independent of the Council but works cooperatively with the Council. The Chairman of the Friends is Sandy Kerr and it is currently seeking Charitable status.

To learn more, please see the Friends' website at www.fodw.org

A bit of history

The Duchess Wood has been loved and used for many generations past and used to be known as the 'Bluebell Wood'.

A sea of Bluebells in Duchess Wood

The Duchess Wood LNR was formally opened by Magnus Magnusson in 1998. At that time there were only 25 LNRs in Scotland. Luss Estates, which owns the land, provided it on a 15-year agreement to Dumbarton District Council which took on responsibility for its management, a responsibility which passed to Argyll and Bute Council.

Your views are welcome and any offers of help would be gratefully received. Please contact the Duchess Wood LNR Committee . . .
Phone Sandy Kerr at 01436 675421 or
email ajkerr@biologic.fsbusiness.co.uk

The HGBG played an advisory role in the creation of the Duchess Wood LNR, but was integral to the setting up of the Committee and has always been represented on it. Additionally, it has taken on the publicity function for the Woods.

Where is the Duchess Wood Local Nature Reserve?

It lies to the West of Helensburgh, in the Green Belt.

There are four main access points:

from the car park which is near Kathleen Park, north of Rhu Road Higher, between two sets of playing fields
where Rhu Road Higher becomes West Montrose Street to the east of the playing fields
at the western end of Millig Street
at the north-east corner of the wood at the end of Paterson Drive, beside the railway.

Duchess Wood Path

Information Sheet 3 published by Duchess Wood LNR Committee in June 2006 is available here in pdf format (1MB).

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