New Atholl Walking Trails

The ranger service has been hard at work installing new set of waymarked trails around Blair Atholl and the surrounding area. The way markers are now all in place for visitors and locals alike to explore the trails but the work wouldn't have been possible without the hard work of volunteers and input from the Cairngorms National Park Authority and local Tourism Association.

Three of the trails start from the Blair Atholl Information Centre, located on the main road beside the River Tilt, and two more begin from Struan, to the north. A sixth trail uses the existing trails around the Falls of Bruar, starting from the House of Bruar.

Copies of the accompanying Atholl Trails booklet, guiding you around the walks, are available in the Blair Atholl Information CentreYou can view a printable version of the Atholl Trails booklet, guiding you around the new walks printed copies are available in the Blair Atholl Information Centre. You can also view a printable version of our own Waymarked Trails from Blair Atholl online.

Waymarked Trails on Atholl Estates

Click on the pictures of the trails booklets below to view printable online versions of the publications.

Waymarked Trails from Blair Atholl (published by Atholl Estates)
http://goo.gl/iUIJB

Atholl Trails (published by the Cairngorms National Park Authority)
http://goo.gl/tS2sZ

Countryside Trails Dunkeld (published by Atholl Estates):
http://goo.gl/x2a5v

Cycle Routes from Blair Atholl

(published by Atholl Estates)

This booklet is not currently available as an online document but several 

downloadable route cards are available by following the links below:

The River Tay at Dunkeld and Birnam

Atholl Woods and Loch Ordie

The Banvie Circuit

The Falls of Bruar from Blair Castle

Glen Tilt

Killiechangie, by Logierait

First Cuckoo of Spring

A pleasant surprise this morning. While working in Blair Castle grounds we heard the first cuckoo of this spring. It's always lovely to hear the call of the cuckoo as it's a sign that the warmer weather is on the way.

Listening to the characteristic sound also brings a sense of awe, to think that this bird -about the same size as a pigeon- has flown all the way here to Scotland from central Africa. The call is the male bird, letting females in the area know that he has arrived and is ready to take a mate.

European Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)
Image: Locoguapa

Cuckoos are brood parasites, a term that means rather than rearing their own chicks they lay an egg in the unattended nest of another bird, pushing out one of that birds own eggs in the process. The bird whose nest it is then unwittingly raises the cuckoo chick as it's own, unaware of the swap. The young cuckoo usually pushes it's foster brothers and sisters out of the nest, meaning it is the sole recipient of it's surrogate parents attentions. Cuckoos in Scotland usually lay their eggs in the nests of birds such as Meadow Pipits, Dunnocks, and Reed Warblers. The health of the population of Scottish and British cuckoo populations is therefore closely linked to those of these birds. The dramatic decline of cuckoos in recent years has largely been due to a reduction in their egg-hosts' populations decreasing, caused mainly by habitat loss and fragmentation.

The cuckoo has a breast patterning that mimics the coloration of the peregrine falcon and keeps potential competitors and predators at bay. This is the grey and white banding that you can see clearly in the picture above. It is though that this patterning also helps them to successfully parasitise the nests of other birds, fooling them into thinking that they are going to be attacked and eaten, and so they flee the nest leaving the female cuckoo free to lay her egg. Something which she can do in under 10 seconds!

Black Grouse Lekking

Dawn was a bit hazy and dull this morning but it looks like today may be nice again. Until the rain arrives, at least. I was up early to survey some Black Grouse lek sites for the Perthshire study group and managed to get some camera-phone footage of  the activity. The quality isn't amazing but you can see how easy it is to do a bit of amateur 'digiscoping' without needing too much technical kit. The initial results are below - no sound though: the grouse were a bit too far away to pick anything up!

When I get a chance I will try and get some more footage and photos up. If you'd like to get closer or have a try yourself, why not check out Atholl Estates' Black Grouse Land Rover Tours that will take you out to the action.

Snow Melt Adds To Heavy Rainfall

The weather has been very wet here since the early hours of Sunday morning. Heavy rainfall combined with milder temperatures has meant that much of the snow from the higher ground has been melting, swelling the rivers and burns and making them run in high spate. You can see from the picture and video below just what a difference this can make

A tranquil view of Gilbert's Bridge in Glen Tilt on a 'normal' day.
The river is relatively calm. in this picture

The video above was taken from the top of Gilbert's Bridge on Sunday morning. 

The river was in heavy spate and flowing very fast!

Opening Ceremony - Blair Atholl Information Centre

Today was the official opening ceremony for the newly refurbished Blair Atholl Information Centre. John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable  and MSP for Perthshire North, came to cut the ribbon. There were also members of the Cairngorms National Park Authority, Perth and Kinross Council, Atholl Estates and the Blair Atholl Area Tourism Association, as well as representatives from local businesses, all present.

School children from Blair Atholl School came along too.They took part in some activities inside the Centre and were involved in a key role in the ribbon-cutting ceremony - holding the ribbon!

Most importantly there was a fantastic cake, supplied by the thoughtful staff at the Cairngorms National Park Authority. Today was a double celebration, not just opening our new Information Centre, but also that this year marks the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of the Cairngorms National Park. After thorough testing, everyone seemed keen to agree that it was very tasty!

The Cake! Kindly supplied by the Cairngorms National Park Authority, marking
the opening of the Information Centre and 10th Anniversary of the National Park

Many thanks to everyone who came out to make today special. Perhaps also, even bigger thanks to everyone who has been involved 'behind the scenes' to enable this great new facility transition from idle daydream to happy reality.

If you're passing near Blair Atholl, call in for a peek around, and perhaps a chat with one of the Rangers on duty!

Litter Pick Postponed

The Blair Atholl Community Litter Pick that was scheduled for today at 10 am has been postponed due to the weather. There's just enough snow lying on the ground to cover up the litter.

The litter pick has been moved back to next week

 Wednesday 27th March at 10am

Last year's litter pick: bright, sunny and warm... not like today!

Cally Car Park: Track Resurfaced

The track at the entrance to Cally Car Park, north of Dunkeld, has been resurfaced. This is a welcome improvement because the track was getting very potholed and getting your car (or Ranger van!) into the car park was a bumpy and unsettling experience.

Resurfaced entrance track to Cally Car Park, by Dunkeld

It has taken some time for this work to be carried out as there was some difficulty in ascertaining who had 'ownership' of the task of maintenence - the car park was established and is operated through a continuing collaboration between Atholl Estates and Perth & Kinross Council (PKC). It had been understood by the Ranger Service that PKC had jurisdiction for maintaining the track because of public access but, as it turns out from chasing a long paper trail, Atholl Estates is in fact the responsible party. After this had been determined it was only a matter of waiting for a window of reasonable weather in which to carry out the work... possibly the hardest part of the whole process...!

Thinking of Winter Sunshine

The outlook for today and the next while may be dull and grey today but Beinn A' Ghlo was looking rather splendid in the sunshine on Monday last week as we carried out our monthly wetland bird survey for the BTO. Considering that over three quarters of the water surface was covered in ice, it was fairly busy out on Loch Moraig: lots of Mallard and Goldeneye, several Tufted Ducks, a small flock of Whooper Swans and a Grey Herron standing still and fishing from the banks.

Beinn A' Ghlo looking good, snow capped in the sunshine

Cairngorms Ranger Gathering 2013

On Wednesday and Thursday of this week we were at the Cairngorms National Park Ranger Gathering. This annual event run by the National Park Authority is a great opportunity for all of the rangers in the National Park to get together and share our ideas and experience and be updated on news and projects happening within the park. All the ranger services in the National Park are operated by individual organisations, rather than being employed directly by the Park Authority, so this is a really valuable way for us to learn more about what each other do and to forge better links to work together as a team. Hopefully everyone came away feeling inspired and full of enthusiasm to pass on to the public.

Thank you to all the National Park Authority staff who organised the gathering, both up-front and behind the scenes, and also to the speakers and workshop leaders who attended.

Don't forget to keep an eye out for a ranger and say hello next time you visit the Cairngorms!

Some of the Cairngorms Rangers making their way to the top of a snowy
Meall a' Bhuachaille. You can make out the Cairngorm plateau in the distance.
It wasn't all getting out and visiting sites though, there were plenty of presentations
and serious discussion too - they just don't make such good photos!

Winter Scenes

The Dunkeld end of the estate and area around Loch Ordie was looking very wintry yesterday. It was a very changeable day: bright sunshine one moment, followed by grey, snow laden skies the next, with very little warning of the transition in between. This made the planned work of counting water birds for the BTO's Wetland Bird Survey (which we have mentioned before) slightly more difficult than ususal. It also meant that the photograph of a cormorant on Rotmell Loch contained more snow than feathers, even though the bird was only a short distance away - so there are no bird pictures below, unfortunately. Instead you can see some scenes of snow and sunshine.

This 'ice plant' has been formed by the water from wind-driven
waves on Loch Ordie soaking the rushes and freezing, over
and over, until the whole plant became encased in ice.

One of the brighter moments of the day, Looking west from the
main track up to Loch Ordie

Land Rover with the bleak grey-white sky behind,
 in the middle of a flash 'blizzard'

...And a view from inside the vehicle (it was stopped when this was taken!)

Atholl Estates Ranger Events 2013

The ice and snow outside are giving local wildlife a hard time. But meanwhile we have been thinking forward to next year. Our events programme for 2013 is now complete. You can view it at http://www.athollestatesrangerservice.co.uk/ranger_events.cfm or by clicking on the link at the top of the blog. There is also a pdf poster link on the same webpage which you can print out.
As usual we have lots of family and children's events in the summer. We have some longer adult walks in June and have re-instated our walk round the farm at Easter to look at some of the newborn lambs and calves.
We look forward to seeing you next year.

Stalking Season - Hillphones & Heading for the Scottish Hills

The red deer stag season is open from 01.08.2012 until the 20.10.2012. To help hill walkers and other outdoor recreational users plan their visit and practice responsible access to the Scottish countryside, we will once again be providing information about where and when stalking is taking place.

The information provided by Atholl Estate Ranger Service covers the Atholl and Lude Estates, incorporating the Munros of Beinn Dearg, Carn a' Chlamain, Beinn A' Ghlo and the south sides of An Sgarsoch and Carn Ealar as well as the Corbetts Ben Mheadhonach and Ben Vuirich.


Details are available online from the Heading for the Scottish Hills website where you can find up to date information about the deer stalking taking place on all of the areas that are involved in the pilot scheme, now entering its third year. There is also a Hillphones service available on 01796 481 740 where you will find a recorded voice message detailing the areas where deer stalking will be taking place. 

Lastly, information is also available from notice boards at the Glen Tilt Car Park and inside the newly refurbished Blair Atholl Information Centre & Ranger Base in Blair Atholl.  Using these services should enable you to plan your visit to avoid routes that may disturb deer stalking whilst still fulfilling your goals.  .

Screenshot of the Heading for the Scottish Hills website

We appreciate that most people like to plan their visits in advance and will always endeavor to have as much information available as possible, it is often not possible for to determine where stalking will take place until a few days or the morning beforehand. Generally, longer range information will be made available on the website as we obtain it but please re-check this information through one of the information facilities closer to the time of your visit as changes may often be made.

My National Park Adventure Writing Competition

To help celebrate National Parks Week, 15 members of the UK's National Parks family and brand partner Merrell, outdoor gear specialist, are teaming up to launch the My National Park Adventure competition for young people. Would-be travel bloggers are being urged to write a piece of 500 words or less about their National Park adventures this summer.

Remember that adventure is what you make it! We want to see young people making the most of their National Parks - so check out the range of National Park events on our website and tell them about your adventures!

Aspiring litterateurs (that's a posh word for 'writer' – we had to look it up) can enter the competition via the UK National Parks website: www.nationalparks.gov.uk/mynationalparkadventure

Entrants will need the permission of a parent or legal guardian.

There are two categories for entries: Authors of 11 years old and under / Authors aged 12-16 years old (inclusive). 

One winner will be chosen from each category, and he or she will walk away with brand new top-quality footwear provided by Merrell. So, get writing!

Stories must be submitted by 12 noon Friday, 7 September 2012, and must take place in one of the 15 Members of the UK National Park Family: Brecon Beacons, the Broads, Cairngorms, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Lake District, Loch Lomond & the Trossachs, New Forest, Northumberland, North York Moors, Peak District, Pembrokeshire Coast, Snowdonia, South Downs and Yorkshire Dales.

Full details of the competition, as well as terms and conditions, can be found at: www.nationalparks.gov.uk/mynationalparkadventure

Bumbling along or toiling away?

Bumblebees  are associated with warm weather and long sunny days. Even if it hasn't been as warm as we might like, now that we're in the midst of what is passing for summer there should be plenty of bumblebees about for you to discover in your gardens or when out for a walk in the countryside.

Bumblebees feed on and collect the nectar from flowers and take it back to their hives where is is used to feed their young or stored. Bumblebees are much more open to food shortage than honeybees however, as they only store a few days worth of nectar at a time.Because they visit many different flower species, bumblebees are hugely important to our ecosystems as pollinators. As well as helping wildflowers to reproduce it has been estimated that the pollination 'services' of bumblebees are worth something like £400 million each year to the UK agricultural economy. So it would seem that visiting flowers all day is pretty hard work!

Heath Bumblebee (Bombus jonellus) feeding on a thistle flower

Of the 24 species of UK bumblebee only 8 are commonly found throughout the UK, in almost all habitats where there are flowering plants.. The rest are much less common or even very rare; the Great yellow bumblebee (Bombus distinguendus) is only found in a few places along the north coast of Scotland. Numbers of bumblebees have declines severely throughout the UK since the mid 1940's and two species have actually become extinct in the UK. The decline of the bumblebee is largely due to changing agricultural practices such as increasing field sizes and intensive planting of single crop species (monoculture). This has led to a 97% reduction in flower-rich grasslands from 1930's levels and removed large portions of bumblebees' preferred habitat.

Recently the Bumblebee Conservation Trust teamed up with the RSPB and other partners to reintroduce the Short-haired bumblebee (Bombus subterraneus) at the RSPB's Dungeness reserve on the south coast of england. It is hoped that by working closely with local farmers and other landowners to help provide plenty of suitable, flower-species rich habitat in marginal agricultural land, the reintroduction of the bee will be a success.

If you'd like to find out more about bumblebees and how to identify them you can visit the Bumblebee Conservation Trust's website. There you will also find information and links to surveys that members of the public can get involved with, such as "BeeWatch" - an ambitious project that allows you to upload your photos of bumblebees and get help to identify them. This has already helped to discover new populations of bumblebees. The more people that are involved the more information the project will be able to gather!

Closer to home you can also help by planting "bee friendly" flowers in your garden so that you are helping to provide a variety of plants suitable for different species of bumblebee. Other simple ways to help could involve making an overwintering shelter or "bee house" for bees to take refuge in and hibernate over the cold winter months. This BBC Breathing Spaces webpage has some really good ideas to get you started thinking about homes for different bee species and there's a link to a make for a really good one for bumblebee's at the bottom of the page!

Small Cow-wheat is Special

Small cow-wheat (Melampyrum sylvaticum) grows on at least 2 sites on Atholl Estates. This is pretty good going as it's only found in 18 sites in the whole of Britain, most of which are in Scotland. Now is the perfect time to see it as it's flowering, and relatively easy to distinguish from its common cousin - common cow-wheat (Melampyrum pratense). It likes to grow in areas that are somewhat damp and shady, and also steals some nutrients from other nearby plants - it is a hemi-parasite. Its seeds are dispersed by ants, in fact, ants assisted with some conservation work here to spread out the range of one patch of cow-wheat, by taking the seeds further than they had been put by humans.

Removing bracken from a small cow-wheat site

Small cow-wheat flower

The seeds of the small cow-wheat are dispersed by ants. Where this doesn't happen, the flower doesn't spread to new areas and simply becomes very concentrated in one small locality. This is happening here to some extent and so, in conjunction with the National Park, we are trying to help the flower's future success by dispersing some seeds, and also keeping back invasive plants such as bracken and horsetail.

One of our small cow-wheat sites is very easy to visit up Glen Tilt, and we hope to have some interpretation on site soon.

Small cow-wheat is one of the species involved with the Cairngorms Rare Plant project, which aims to deliver urgently needed action for four threatened plants of high conservation importance in the Cairngorms National Park. www.cairngormsrareplants.org.uk/

We also got the priveleged but very sad close-up of a male pine marten today. It had been hit on the road near the House of Bruar but was still in very good condition. The canine teeth and claws are particularly impressive so close up. We have many pine martens living in the woods here, but being nocturnal and shy, they are rarely seen. We will use this one for educational purposes.

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day. It started in 1970 in the USA and has steadily gained force, becoming a worldwide event during the '90s though it's still not that well recognised in the UK. The idea behind the day is an attempt to "Mobilize the Earth" into doing more to celebrate and benefit the environment - if we all take one day where we think about how our actions are affecting the Earth, maybe it will be in our consciousness more often.

Here's a thought provoking Earth Day video from the US Environmental Protection Agency that has a message equally relevant for over here:

The littering issue isn't too bad here on Atholl Estaes as we're happy to see that most of our visitors seem to respect the landscape and take their rubbish away with them. That said, we do have to deal with the occasional trouble hot-spot and keep on top of things in the busier areas. But thank you to everyone who does their best to take their litter away and keep Scotland clean for everyone!

Out with the old and in with the new

The recent warm weather of last week seems like a distant memory with the current cold snap. It was a chilly  -7°C this morning and the damp air made it feel even colder. But the day brightened up a little this afternoon and there are still see plenty of signs of spring on show - it's all about change at this time of year! 


The red deer stag in the deer park at the castle has recently lost his antlers. He will be without them for a while although it won't be too long before they start growing again, to be ready for the rut in autumn.

Discarded Red Deer antler (© David Perez)

Red deer (Cervus elaphus) digesting their lunch. But which one is the stag?
Answer: he's the larger, lighter coloured one with stubby 'nobbles' on his head

The sheep are lambing and there are little lambs starting to run about, worrying their mothers as they play and explore.

April lambs exploring

Also happening this spring: the pony trekking center at the castle is open again for riding. If you're interested in having a go then look on the website but remember that you will need to book in advance. We had a go recently and think it's good fun!


BBC Springwatch (the modern-day herald of spring?) won't be on until May but there are plenty of signs to look out for in the month between now and then! See what you can spot for yourself if you come up to the castle for a visit, or in your own garden and surrounding countryside. You can comment below to let us know what you've seen!

Village Litter Pick: 10am, 27th March

We will be holding a litter pick through the village of Blair Atholl this coming Tuesday, the 27th March. If you would like to come along and help clean up in the community, we will be meeting outside the Village Hall at 10am. You can stay and help out for as long or as little as you like and we will provide everyone with gloves, rubbish bags and litter pickers.

With a bit of help from a few willing hands it won't take long to have the village looking clean and neat, ready for the springtime. Any time that you can spare will be greatly appreciated, so come along and join us!

Ranger picking up leaf litter

Red Squirrel Photos

We haven't had much luck capturing any images of wildcats recently and were starting to think that there might be something the matter with our trail cameras. So to check that they were working properly, we put them where there was sure to be some animal action - at one of the 3 squirrel feeders that we have around the castle grounds. As you can see from the pictures below, the trail cameras work fine but it looks like we will have to keep trying before we see some wildcats!

A bushy-tailed red squirrel sitting on our squirrel feeder

You can see that this squirrel has a bald patch on it's back,
perhaps it had a close encounter with a bird of prey or a pine marten?

Red squirrel nibbling a nut!

And this fearsome beastie? An escaped sheep coming to
investigate our wildcat bait!