Guided Tours

Due to a fault in the Guided Tours software, our Guided Tours to Cormonachan Falls & the Medieval Settlement have been temporarily suspended until new software has been installed.

We will advise when the Guided Tours will resume in due course.

The Secretary, Secretary@cormonachan-woodlands.co.uk

Guided Tours to Cormonachan Falls & the Medieval Settlement

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The Upper Cormonachan Heritage Paths and South Car Park are now open to the public from 1st July 2023.

There is now a range of opportunities for walking to and in Cormonachan Community Woodlands!

  1. The original 2.5 km of circular paths in the north end of the woodlands that can be accessed a) off the road in the north end near Lochwood Guest House at the Clach Bhadach entrance (No car park) or b) from the North Car Park in the middle of the woodlands. There you have a few options to walk the Squirrel Trail (1 km – 30 minutes), the full circular walk (2.5 km – 1 hour) or c) walking from Lochgoilhead on the Forest Road, walk down the rough path to the north west corner of the woodlands joining the circular paths by the “Loggerheads” Squirrel Pole Sculpture (10 on the map below).
  2. From the North Car Park, walk up to the Contemplation Shelter (4 on the map) and take the new path towards the Medieval Settlement (1) and Cormonachan Falls (2 & 3) (2 km – 1 hour or if returning to the same car park 4 km – 2 hours).
  3.  From the South Car Park, walk up to the Cormonachan Falls (steep path) (2 & 3) and onwards to the Medieval Settlement (1) and the new link to the Forest Road. Alternatively, you can walk to the north end of the woodlands via the Contemplation Shelter (4). The full walk there and back to the south car park would be 6.5 km…
  4. It is now possible to walk on paths from Carrick Castle via the Carrick Castle Estate paths that now join up via a gate to the Forest Road above Cormonachan Community Woodlands.
  5. You could also now walk, off road, from Carrick Castle to Lochgoilhead (8 km) (joining the road at Lettermay junction) with a detour from the Forest Road around Cormonachan Community Woodlands using both entrances/exits…
  6.  Enjoy these lovely walks and do leave a donation for the maintenance of the paths in one of the Donation Posts (by South car park and by the Contemplation Shelter) or by using the “Donate Button” at the bottom of the website https://cormonachan-woodlands.co.uk.
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Upper Cormonachan Heritage Paths Open from Saturday 1st July 2023

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Upper Cormonachan Heritage Paths and new South Car Park will be Open to the public from Saturday 1st July 2023
 
These new paths from the new South Car Park will lead to Cormonachan Falls, the Medieval Settlement, the Forest Road, where you will be able to walk off-road to and from Carrick Castle and Lochgoilhead and join the Cowal Way.
 
Once the new paths are open, you will be able to book a Guided Tour on the following Mondays from 10 am to 12 noon:-
3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th & 31st July & 7th & 14th August 2023 (£5 per Adult & Children under 16, Free – Max 12 persons per tour).
Look out for ‘Guided Tours’ link on our website coming soon which will also be shown at the notice board in the North Car Park.
 
The new 2 km of paths will join up with the existing 2.5 km of circular paths in the north of Cormonachan Community Woodlands at the Contemplation Shelter and the North Car Park.
 
The existing paths are open every day of the year for visitors to enjoy as will the new paths from 1st July… However, the North Car Park will be closed to the public on Friday 30th June 2023 for the Official Opening of the new paths by the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority. Stewards will be in attendance.
 
“Leave No Trace” please, and, that includes ‘doggy bags’ being left…
 
Cormonachan Community Woodlands Ltd
Highly Commended Award in Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards 2022
E-mail: Secretary@cormonachan-woodlands.co.uk
Web site: https://cormonachan-woodlands.co.uk
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“When Amazon leaders blessed Scotland’s Rainforest” BBC News

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A new film on Cormonachan Community Woodlands

A new film (8:12 mins) on Cormonachan Community Woodlands was released on Tuesday 14th March 2023 by the Community Woodlands Association and can be viewed here:-

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How to Volunteer in Cormonachan Community Woodlands

How to Volunteer

If you would like to volunteer, please set up your registration by completing two short forms. These actions are only required once, then you are able to book/cancel as many volunteer events as you wish.

Please complete the Volunteer Application Form on the link below.  This is a secure site.

Volunteer Application Form

Please also print out and complete the Consent and Medical form below. You can email this to us at Volunteers@cormonachan-woodlands.co.uk or bring to your first volunteer event. Completing this task in advance helps us to be more efficient on the day. If you are unable to send in advance, don’t worry, we will have paper copies with us to complete.

Adult Consent & Medical Form 2023/2024

See details of forthcoming Volunteers Days where you can book/cancel safely online on the link below:-

Volunteers Days that you can book/cancel online


Volunteers Days for Spring 2023:-

Saturday 18/02/2023 – 10 am to 4 pm with 1/2 hour break for lunch – JM (Completed)

Thursday 09/03/2023 – 10 am to 4 pm with 1/2 hour break for lunch – FW (Completed)

Saturday 25/03/2023 – 10 am to 4 pm with 1/2 hour break for lunch – JM Cancelled (lack of support)

Thursday 06/04/2023 – 10 am to 4 pm with 1/2 hour break for lunch – FW

Saturday 15/04/2023 – 10 am to 4 pm with 1/2 hour break for lunch – JM

Monday 08/05/2023 – 10 am to 4 pm with 1/2 hour break for lunch – FW  (UK National Volunteers Day)

Thursday 11/05/2023 – 10 am to 4 pm with 1/2 hour break for lunch – FW

Saturday 20/05/2023 – 10 am to 4 pm with 1/2 hour break for lunch – JM

You are welcome to help mornings, afternoons or both.

Team Leaders: FW = Frances Walker (Volunteers Leader); JM = Jacqui Matthews (Woodlands Manager)

All Volunteers Days are from 10 am to 4 pm with a social lunch break. You can come for half a day – all help is much appreciated…

Tasks to be carried out on the day will be suitable to the weather!

Work to do in these ancient woodlands includes cutting down & burning invasive Rhododendron ponticum, removing self-seeded invasive plants, clearing already felled Sitka spruce trees & stacking and burning the brash, cutting down self-seeded Sitka spruce trees (felling can only be done by certificated volunteer members), slashing bracken, strimming, brush cutting, scything & mowing the paths, pruning branches alongside the paths, maintaining the ditches, planting native trees & keeping them free of scrub, cleaning & painting the Red Squirrel Hide & storage shed and the Contemplation Shelter, cleaning the picnic tables & benches, helping to make sculptures & maintaining them, keeping the Labyrinth in good order, topping up the squirrel feeders, erecting new signs, cleaning the information signs and anything else that may be needed to maintain the woodlands in good order.

Cormonachan Community Woodlands volunteers may be joined by
Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park volunteers.

Clean Hi-Vis jackets, gloves, masks and face shields will be available for volunteers to use.
All tools and equipment for tasks are provided.

Please wear suitable clothing and footwear and bring a packed lunch and refreshments. Lunch break is very sociable over half an hour.

First Aiders are always in attendance.

The nearest public toilets are 2 miles away to the south just past Castle Carrick in Carrick Castle.

CCW Volunteer Policy

Would you be interested in becoming a Team Leader? –
see CCW Team Leader Check List

The CCW Volunteers Leader is Frances Walker – 07776 325431
E-mail: Volunteers@cormonachan-woodlands.co.uk.

Our CCW Woodlands Manager is Jacqui Matthews – 07950 699129
E-mail: Woodlands-Manager@cormonachan-woodlands.co.uk

We do hope that as many people as possible can volunteer over these months.
If you haven’t volunteered before, give it a GO! It’s actually very enjoyable and rewarding to make a difference…

Please book Volunteers Days in advance, if you can’t attend having booked, you can cancel – all can be done securely online.

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The Wee Goil – December 2022

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Upper Cormonachan Heritage Paths Project now Under Construction

We are very pleased to inform you that on Wednesday, 19th October 2022, the commencement of the £1/4 M construction of the Upper Cormonachan Heritage Paths Project has started.
The first BL Groundworks excavator arrived at Upper Cormonachan and it commenced work from the Forest Road down into the woodlands.
The whole area during construction (19th October to January 2023) will be closed to the public on the map for the area shown for safety reasons.
The map shows the closed new path route from the Contemplation Shelter. Temporarily, we have left open access to the Amazonian’s Oak tree and plaque planted for COP26 in November 2021 until the excavator reaches that area.
BBC – The One Show will be filming the start of the path construction, Cormonachan Falls and our Cormonachan Woodlands Rhododendron ponticum clearance programme on Monday 24th October and anyone interested in helping our Volunteers Leader, Frances Walker with cutting back the Rhododendron in the Clach Bhadach area to the north of the woodlands will appear on television. If you can help, please e-mail Frances at Volunteers@cormonachan-woodlands.co.uk.
The BBC programme is to show there are good news follow ups to COP26 when COP27 commences in November. As part of the Amazonian’s visit to see our part of Scotland’s Rainforest, the Scottish Rainforest Alliance are sending their representative, Gordon Gray Stephens, who was present with the Amazonians last year, to be interviewed with Dee Locke as Secretary of Cormonachan Community Woodlands.
The new car park at Cormonachan Falls will most likely be constructed in January 2023 and there will be an official opening of the new 2 km paths connecting Cormonachan Falls, the Medieval Settlement, access to the Forest Road and the extended paths to the Contemplation Shelter to join the existing 2.5 km giving an increased walking area of 4.5 km in the spring of 2023.
If you can help Frances for a short time on Monday, it would be very appreciated.
If you haven’t yet visited Argyll Arts Collective’s ‘Woodlands Art Trail’ in the woodlands, it is open until 30th October and is a FREE event. We do of course hope visitors will contribute to the maintenance of the paths using the Donations Post by the Contemplation Shelter.
Cormonachan Community Woodlands, Loch Goil, Argyll
63.9 ha of Ancient Semi Natural Woodlands and part of Scotland’s Rainforest that received the Highly Commended Award in Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards 2022.

 

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