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Gordon Arms Hotel «Huntly» 1998  Tour no. 101Members & spouses attending:- 94>Quote £45 Din. sB&B. pkd Lunch 10 May - Arrival - afternoon:- Demonstrations of "MidasGIS" and "hawkeyeDGPS" equipment (Global Positioning Systems). 7:30pm - Society Dinner at Gordon Arms Hotel. Guest speaker: Lord Sewel, Minister of Agriculture, the Environment and Fisheries. 11 May - Morning:- Theme "Planting on Better Land". The "Grampian Forest Challenge" was a plan developed in 1996 to encourage farmers and landowners in the north-east, where soils were often better than average, to plant well-designed and productive woodlands to diversify rural land-use. Drumdlegie Estate is such a land area. Afternoon:- Annual Business Meeting in Cairnie Village Hall, 4 miles northwest of Huntly. 12 May - Morning:- Invercauld Estate for "Designed Landscapes". Lunch in Mar Lodge. Afternoon:- MarLodge Estate - theme "Native Pinewoods". Evening:- Ceilidh at Gordon Arms Hotel, 8:30 approximatley. 13 May - Morning:- Mosstodloch Sawmill (James Jones & Sons Ltd). Afternoon:- Glenlivet Estate - "Solutions to harvesting Coastal lodgepole pine".   Castle Douglas» 1999 Tour no. 102
Murray Park Hotel «Crieff» 2000 Tour no. 103Members & spouses attending:- 42
Quote £47.5 Din. sB&B. pkd Lunch 14 May - arrival and welcome by the Society President, Alan Bloomfield OBE, and Perth & Angus Regional Chairman, Paul Ramsay. 15 May - Morning: Callander Sawmill (James Callander & Son). Then to Callander Wood, a recent purchase by Forest Enterprise and managed as urban woodland. Afternoon: Cowie Bowling Club for lunch, kindly provided by CSC Forest Products Ltd., and a talk by Alan Bloomfield and his staff about plans and policy of his company. Evening: 7:30, Annual Dinner, Crieff Hydro Hotel. Guest speaker - John Home Robertson MSP. 16 May - Visits to Auchtenny Woodlands, Struie Hill Woodland and Drummond Estate to discuss raising of new forests, especially in connection with formation of policies to cater for future timber markets, without detriment to sensitive landscapes. 147th Annual Business Meeting in the afternoon. 17 May - First stop at Loch Katrine Pier car park, in the Trossachs. This is a catchment area for the West of Scotland Water Authority. Boat trip on Loch Katrine 18 May - Tour of the "Big Tree Country", led by Neil Findlay. This is a circular tour starting and finishing at Crieff. No Tour Arranged for 2001
«St Boswells» 2002 Tour no. 104
19 May - 4:30 am - Dawn Chorous at Dundock Wood (ends in time for barbeque breakfast).Then at 10:00 am, Veteran Tree Tour led by Mike Smith. Evening: The President's reception followed by introductory talks by Alex Morris, FC Conservator, and Steve Smith, Head of FC Woodland Surveys - Dryburgh Abbey Hotel at 7pm. 20 May - The Hirsel Estate, Coldstream & Millmount Farm, Melrose. Evening: Annual Dinner, Dryburgh Abbey Hotel, 7.30 for 8.00pm. Guest speaker: Mr Patrick Gordon Duff Pennington, Land Owner and Manager and Countryman. 21 May - “Upland Silviculture” Multi-Purpose Forestry, Demonstrated at Carter Forests and Lethem Estate, Jedburgh. Also a visit to Tilhhill Economic Forestry, Lethem Estate. Lunch at Horse & Hounds Inn, Bonchester Bridge. Visit also to Forest Enterprise, Wauchope Forest. Evening talk at Dryburgh Abbey Hotel: guest speaker: Chris Badenoch, SNH. 22 May - "People and Wildlife, at Gala Policy Woods. Then Traquair Estate, Innerleithen. Lunch and ABM at 1:45pm in the famous Traquair House. Afternoon: Forest Enterprise & Borders Forest Trust, Lindinnie Wood. 23 May - Optional tours of Dawyck Botanical Gardens or Glentress Forest. Booking is Essential no further details«Fort William & Lochaber» 2003 Tour no. 105Members & spouses attending:- 74Members find own hotels 19 May - Sunart Oak Woods to discuss management of Oak and Alder. . Recreational facilities including a wildlife Hide and the "Woodschool" (like a bandstand) made from local wood. Lunch in Salen Hotel. Rained all day. Annual dinner at Milton Hotel, Fort William, evening. 20 May - Glen Nevis a.m. for discussion about Alcan (formerly BA) conservation plans in the area. Then Arjo Wiggins paper mill and Kilmallie Sawmill in the afternoon. Only rained while we were inside. AGM at Arjo Wiggins social club. Then Boyd Sea Terminal, Annat - a private project to create landing facility for cargo in ships coming from the sea via Loch Linnhe into Loch Eil. 21 May - visit to Glenfinnan Estate (Alistair Gibson). Packed lunch here. We hear how the "Harry Potter" movie makers sometimes pay £7000 per day for use of land. Afternoon to Leanachan Forest to see newly created cycle tracks. Then Ben Nevis distillery. «Braemar, Royal Deeside» 2004 Tour no. 106Members & spouses attending:- 93Members find own hotels 150th Year
24 May - Glen Tanar to discuss habitat management for capercaillie amongst dense heather growth under canopy. Efforts had been made to encourage growth of blaeberry and burning had been tried. But when heather was damp burning failed, and when dry there was danger of flame exploding. Natural regeneration of mixed broadleaves, after felling of Douglas Fir, had done well (click "Aboyne '92" top of page). AGM took place in afternoon, followed by a visit to Ballogie to see natural regeneration issues in commercial forestry. 25 May - Market Muir, Huntly, hosted by Scottish Woodlands, to see Spruce grown as a main crop grown on previously agricultural land. Larch and Douglas had been included in the planting, but soil appeared too rich to produce healthy trees. James Jones's Sawmill at Burnfoot took regular amounts of Spruce. 26 May - Balmoral Estates to review long history of the forest and to discuss modern thinking about deer management and wildlife conservation. Barbecue lunch at Invercauld Estate. «Seamills Hydro Hotel, West Kilbride» 2005 Tour no. 107Members & spouses attending:- 95Quote: £72 per person, Dinner, Bed & Breakfast 22 May - Reception at Seamill Hydro Hotel, 6:30 - 7:30 pm. 23 May - Visit to the Isle of Arran. Ferry from Ardrossan to Brodick. Forest Enterpriseforest. Cost of carriage of forest products to the mainland makes it hardly worth while to harvest. Lunch at Brodick Castle cafe. Tour of Brodick Gardens (National Trust for Scotland) in afternoon. Discussion constant battle to eradicate rhododendrons. 24 May - Visit to Newton Mearns and Pollok Park, Glasgow. Conflict with city planners who visualize urban spread interlaced with ornamental trees not at all suitable for the actual sites available. Pollok Country Park consists 361 acres within Glasgow city boundaries, which had been in the ownership of the Maxwell family for 700 years. Now run as a park, management problems arise with old hardwoods while public range at large. Burrell Gallery in the park contains the Burrell Collection of paintings and period furnishings. Lunch and RSFS ABM here. Annual Dinner at Seamills Hydro Hotel, 7:30 for 8:00pm. 25 May - Walking tour through Bellsbank and Craigengillan Estate, South Ayshire - all managed with public access in mind. Large proportion of work done with volunteer involvement. Lunch in the stables of Craigengillan House. 26 May - Benmore Botanic Gardens & Kilmun Arboretum & Forest Garden, Argyll. Western Ferry Gourock to Dunoon. Cafe at Black Gates entry into Benmore Botanic Gardens. Walking tour of the gardens - ornamental trees and shrubs, including rhodendrons and spectacular Redwood Avenue Afternoon in Kilmun National Arboretum which was set up initially in 1930 as a trial ground for exotic tree species to test for suitability in forest plots. «Lochnell Arms Hotel, North Connel» 2006 Tour no. 108Members & spouses attending:- 68Quote: £71 per person, Dinner, Bed & Breakfast 21 May - 18.30 Gathering at the Lochnell Arms, North Connel for a welcome reception. 22 May - 10.00. Bus to Glasdrum NNR in Glen Creran to see woodland grazing project, part of Achnacloich Estate, the property of Lorne Nelson Esq. ABM and lunch at Taynuilt village hall. PM: Visit Bonawe Iron Works, Glen Nant NNR. Evening: Annual Dinner at the Argyllshire Gathering Drawing Room in Oban. 23 May - 08.30 Ferry to Craignure, Mull. Visit a tourist enterprise, fuelled by woodchips from thinnings of the plantations on the island, community woods, Mull. Return at 17:00. 24 May - Visit a proposed site for woodland grazing project at Craignish, between Oban and Lochgilphead. Lunch at the cafe at Kilmartin House Museum. PM: Visit Dunadd, the ancient fort, where the Kingdom of Dalriada was established in ca AD 450. Climb up it. Then to Lochgilphead, where Mr Bob McIlwraith of Alienergy will show us round the woodchip fired boiler that heats a recently built housing estate. 25 May - 11.30 Meet at Cashel - "Forest for a Thousand years" 10th Anniversary conducted tour. |
