Glasdrum Wood facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Glasdrum Wood National Nature Reserve
IUCN Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area)
Glasdrum Wood National Nature Reserve Location in Argyll and Bute
Location	Appin, Argyll and Bute, Scotland
Area	169 ha (420 acres)
Established	1967
Governing body	NatureScot
Glasdrum Wood National Nature Reserve

Glasdrum Wood is a special place called a National Nature Reserve (NNR). It's located in Argyll and Bute, on the west coast of Scotland, right by Loch Creran. The name in Scottish Gaelic is Coille a’ Ghlasdroma.

This amazing wood is looked after by NatureScot. It's famous for its many different plants and animals. You can find sessile oak and ash trees, along with lots of mosses and liverworts. It's also home to rare insects, like the special chequered skipper butterfly.

The reserve covers about 169 hectares. This includes the woodland and the lower parts of Beinn Churlain hill. Visitors can use a car park and follow a 1 km long walking path. Since 2004, around 2800 people visit Glasdrum Wood each year.

History of Glasdrum Wood

People have been using Glasdrum Wood for a very long time. We know this for sure since at least the 1600s. There are even older signs of human activity here.

You can still see old charcoal platforms and a limekiln. These date back to the 1700s and 1800s. They show that people used a lot of wood for industries back then.

During this time, the wood was managed by a method called coppicing. This meant that some big oak and ash trees were left standing. The smaller trees, mostly oak, were cut down every 10-15 years. This helped new trees grow back from the stumps. Oak was very popular because it was strong. Its bark was also used in a process called tanning, which turns animal skins into leather. Other trees like birch and hazel were sometimes called "black woods" and were not always protected.

In the 1950s and early 1960s, the Forestry Commission bought the woods around Loch Creran. They put up a fence around part of Glasdrum Wood. They also started to clear some of the native trees to plant conifer trees.

But in 1962, the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) stepped in. This group is now called NatureScot. They rented a small part of the wood (17 hectares) to protect the native trees. In 1967, the NCC bought this land. It was then officially made a National Nature Reserve.

Later, in 1976, the NCC bought even more land, about 152 hectares. This new area became part of the reserve a year later. Today, NatureScot owns all the land in Glasdrum Wood National Nature Reserve.

Plants and Animals at Glasdrum Wood

Glasdrum Wood National Nature Reserve has very old sessile oakwoods. You can also find ash, birch, and alder trees mixed in. This area is part of the Glen Creran Woods. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation.

The wood is home to many different types of lichen. Some of these lichens are very rare around the world. The wet weather and humid forest also make it a great place for mosses and liverworts to grow.

Glasdrum NNR is famous for its many invertebrate species. It's known as one of the best places in Scotland to see butterflies. Out of 34 butterfly species found in Scotland, 21 live here!

One very special butterfly is the rare chequered skipper. This butterfly disappeared from England in 1976. But it still lives and thrives here in Glasdrum Wood. The reserve is also home to over 200 types of moths. Some of these, like the barred tooth-striped moth, are also quite rare.

Why Glasdrum Wood is Protected

Glasdrum Wood is part of the larger Glen Creran Woods area, which is about 700 hectares. This whole area is protected in a few ways:

• It's a Site of Special Scientific Interest. This means it has special plants, animals, or geology.
• It's a Special Area of Conservation. This is a European protection for important habitats and species.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature also lists Glasdrum Wood. It is a Category IV protected area. This means it's managed mainly for keeping its special plants and animals safe.