Forestry and Land Scotland’s (FLS) South Region teams are working at pace to allow the public back into storm hit forests where it is safe to do so.

While local teams are making good progress on inspecting, clearing and reopening recreation facilities across the region, some areas will remain closed for at least a further week. During this time, FLS is asking members of the public to use their common sense when visiting local woodlands.

FLS’ South Region Deputy Manager Colin Binnie said:

“Our staff and contractors are continuing to work hard to deal with the impacts of Storm Eowyn across the South Region. Although we’re making good progress, it’s going to take a bit more time to safely gather information on the full extent of the damage.

“Our priorities will be on keeping staff and contractors safe, restoring safe access to neighbours and people who live in the forests, and supporting utilities companies in restoring power to homes and communities where this is still an issue.

“Alongside this, our staff are also making the forests safe for visiting by the public. This work needs to be balanced with ensuring we do our best to keep everyone safe. I urge visitors to follow any signage and not climb on or through windblown trees that may not be stable, and please be patient with us as we continue our work.”

Several of our walking and mountain biking trails are now at least partially open for visitors in the region. Diversions may be in place due to debris while some sites remain closed. Visitors are asked to take extra care and be aware they may not be able to fully utilise all of the trail.

South Region update for public access this weekend

In the Scottish Borders, Glentress and Innerleithen are now open with some of the walking and mountain biking trails safe for the public to use.

Unfortunately, Newcastleton Forest has been badly damaged with a large number of trees down across our trail network and forest roads. We anticipate it will take a week or more before reopening any recreation offer there with teams working to create safe access routes into the forest to inspect the damage and plan necessary safety repair work.

The 7stanes sites around Dumfries including Ae, Mabie and Dalbeattie have also suffered significant damage. Ae and Mabie will be accessible to the public with some of the trail network open, although there are some diversions in place as work continues to clear the remaining windblown trees.

The Dalbeattie Forest recreation facilities are closed while FLS teams continue to assess the scale and scope of damage. Updates will be provided via our website as soon as they are safe for the public to visit.

In Galloway the picture is similar to the rest of the region, with the 7stanes site at Kirroughtree particularly affected by storm damage. The visitor centre, café and bike shop at Kirroughtree are open to the public with some very limited access to two of our walking trails. The rest of the site is currently not safe for public access and we would ask visitors not to venture further into the forest while we continue clear up operations.

The visitor facilities at Glentrool Forest have now been cleared and all walking and mountain bike trails are open and safe for the public to access.

The latest information on forests in the area can be found   online.  <https://forestryandland.gov.scot/destinations-search>

Coiln added:

“More trails will open up as we get clearance and repair work done and we would advise everyone to keep checking the website for the latest information before leaving home and that when they do arrive at a forest to follow some simple rules to keep themselves safe.”

FLS is asking all visitors to:

* always follow signage
* stay well away from work areas
* turn back if a trail or path is blocked (if you can’t get through easily neither can emergency services)
* avoid walking around, climbing over or ducking under felled trees

Members of the public are also being cautioned against making any attempt to cut trees and debris themselves. Felling and removing wind damaged trees is one of the highest-risk forestry activities and can result in severe and potentially fatal injury.