Attack of the ticks - Kilmun Arboretum

[denfinella]

kilmun-arboretum.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

Just a few photos from a tick-infested visit to Kilmun Arboretum the other weekend! Quite an interesting (and steep) route here on walkhighlands. The higher section is no longer a waymarked route (though the path still exists on the ground) and has become a bit overgrown in places probably due to reduced footfall. We were glad to have a print out of the route map. Some sections run through shoulder-high bracken in summer, and we spent a good few minutes after the walk picking off more than a dozen ticks from clothes, hands and forearms. Lucky we weren't wearing shorts!

Some good views from higher up though:

Section through bracken:

The higher section is mostly through various conifers:

Lower down the route joins a wider, waymarked trail again:

The last section was the highlight of the walk, amongst eucalyptus and gum trees:

Sculpture back at the car park:

A good leg-stretcher and indeed some interesting trees... just beware the ticks!

Afternoon: Bishop's Glen, Dunoon

[basscadet]

Well at least the weather was nice for it Had a similar problem along the river Ericht path from Blairgowrie at the weekend - fighting through head high foliage most of the way! Don't you just love summer

I have noticed this in a few places - are the forrestry commision just not maintaining paths any more? I personally think these kind of places are important and these paths are a great loss

[denfinella]

Well at least the weather was nice for it Had a similar problem along the river Ericht path from Blairgowrie at the weekend - fighting through head high foliage most of the way! Don't you just love summer

I have noticed this in a few places - are the forrestry commision just not maintaining paths any more? I personally think these kind of places are important and these paths are a great loss

Haha, although I'd take head high ferns together with summer weather over clearer paths and winter rainfall any day! Did you find any ticks afterwards though?

I think, at least at Kilmun, the Forestry Commission have just re-jigged the routes. There are still three other waymarked paths, but they've consciously gone and removed this higher one. To be honest the route that's been de-waymarked only visited endless conifers anyway. The eucalyptus trees, gum trees etc. further down are much more interesting!

[Paul Webster]

Thanks for the update - the bracken looks very high and seem especially bad this year, I got about 20 of them in a single week!

We've now updated the Arboretum description to still have the longer route (the variants are a bit short), but updated for the lack of waymarking etc. and for the bracken growth in summer.

I have noticed this in a few places - are the forrestry commision just not maintaining paths any more? I personally think these kind of places are important and these paths are a great loss

This is what we are finding - quite a sizeable proportion of forestry commission waymarked routes are being dropped, removed or just having markers taken away, whilst a smaller number of very short trails are being improved. We're seeing this at many locations in all the council areas - Moray, Aberdeenshire, Highland and Argyll, sadly.