Heading up to Glen Feshie soon and wondering if last weekend's storm has affected many trails - lower Feshie, Inshriach etc.

Whinlatter seems to have escaped unscathed for a change.

I've only been up Loggers, round Morlich and Blackpark area so far and it was all fine, just one small tree down on Loggers.

Latest news: I only had a few hours free this afternoon so couldn't get round everything.

The climb from Moor of Feshie to the top of the Inca/Clifftop trails is fine. The very top of Clifftop is impassable. I didn't look for a way around it.


Inca Trail is fine - if a bit wet and slithery.

Cake or Death is OK. Top is flowing well, bottom less so. It was getting dark on the very last bit and I did have some trouble spotting the trail as there are so many (very) small branches down on it but there's nothing unrideable.

If you're up that way, it's always worth the short diversion to Kennapole Hill

Going with the etc. bit of this.

Just got back from the South Lakes, I was intending to do some walling for a chap in the Cartmel Fell area. Got to his farm, he wasn't about but there was a generator running outside the house so I assumed he was still without power. Decided to head round to the fields where the work is... Got about 400m and having passed through the gaps in three big trees that had fallen across the road I came to a group of Electricity Company vehicles. "You won't get any further, it's completely blocked" so I turned round and headed to my brother's. Lots of trees down, up to 30% in some bits, quite a few balanced precariously over the road.

My brother was still without power six days after it was lost. I'd taken him a Camping Gaz double burner and big gas cylinder as he'd run out of canisters for his small stove.

The postman called in at lunch time (he's the brother of my brother's girlfriend), he'd been doing his round with a chainsaw in the back of the van! He said that one of the guys I'd seen had had just ten hours sleep this week The latest estimate is that it will be next Wednesday before everyone is back connected.

One of the trees at my brother's that had blown over was this one (image taken fifteen years ago, all the others are quite a bit taller now):



and had crashed through the wall in front of it in that shot, just a metre to the right of a big gap I'd repaired a couple of months ago. Yesterday and today we were sorting it out and repairing the wall, I counted the rings on one of the cuts - 170yrs old give or take. The wood had been cleared, leaving that single Scot's Pine, dunno why, about 20 years ago. My brother had wondered how long it would last - now we know.

It is quite. upsetting to see/hear just how many trees have fallen.

Thanks for the report scotroutes - I'll have to look up trail names. Kennapole looked really familiar, but I think I'm confusing it with Creag Far-leitire above the Inshriach lochans? Best route up/down Kennapole - the path from the NW? The paths aren't really shown on OS. Been around the hlochans there numerous times.
EDIT - I see the forest road heading up from the SW leads to the start of Cake or Death

boxelder wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 9:11 pm It is quite. upsetting to see/hear just how many trees have fallen.

Thanks for the report scotroutes - I'll have to look up trail names. Kennapole looked really familiar, but I think I'm confusing it with Creag Far-leitire above the Inshriach lochans? Best route up/down Kennapole - the path from the NW? The paths aren't really shown on OS. Been around the hlochans there numerous times.
EDIT - I see the forest road heading up from the SW leads to the start of Cake or Death

That's the one. Just as you drop into CoD, there's a bit of fallen wall. Lift your bike over that then just push up the obvious path to the Cairn and just past that to the viewpoint. There's another nice viewpoint about 100m to the SE but not worth taking your bike to it. You can ride back to the broken wall, just make sure you take the right hand fork after the cairn.

If you're approaching Kennapole from the north then the track round the NW side of Loch Gahmna would be the best option. Just as it hits the worst boggy bit there's a climb up, through another broken wall, to a newly surfaced forest track. Get to the end of that, take a right uphill, then another right towards the cairn.

Also etc, I live in the South Lakes, house still without power (we’ve escaped to parents in Wales). Heard on the grapevine that Grizedale is a complete write off, a lot of the local brides ways are blocked. Will be awhile before a lot of them are passable and I’m not sure how much motivation there will be to clear them at the moment unless farmers rely on them to get to fields.

Grizedale is a complete write off

Yeah, sounds that way Certainly cancelled this weekend's rally and the forest is shut to all I think.

So, for wider context, there’s at least 2 million cubic metres of timber on the deck after the storm in Scotland and N England. Might be closer to 3 when all is said and done. This is 25% of the annual cut for the UK, in one night, but it is concentrated in two main areas; Kielder / Northumberland, NE Scotland and parts of Highland. Impact has been less in places like the Lakes, but nonetheless devastating and will contribute quite a lot to the final tally.

In forestry we have a term called catastrophic windblow, which is where more than 40% of the crop is blow or snapped. Less than 40% is pretty devastating but not “catastrophic”. Some forests in parts of the Angus Glens are >90% blown.

Ian wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 11:09 pm So, for wider context, there’s at least 2 million cubic metres of timber on the deck after the storm in Scotland and N England. Might be closer to 3 when all is said and done. This is 25% of the annual cut for the UK, in one night, but it is concentrated in two main areas; Kielder / Northumberland, NE Scotland and parts of Highland. Impact has been less in places like the Lakes, but nonetheless devastating and will contribute quite a lot to the final tally.

In forestry we have a term called catastrophic windblow, which is where more than 40% of the crop is blow or snapped. Less than 40% is pretty devastating but not “catastrophic”. Some forests in parts of the Angus Glens are >90% blown.

Bugger.......

I remember the 87 storm and the copse that my parent's gardens joins into lost maybe 5 to 10% and looked devastated. It must be a sad sight with those kind of losses

sean_iow wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 11:58 pm I remember the 87 storm and the copse that my parent's gardens joins into lost maybe 5 to 10% and looked devastated. It must be a sad sight with those kind of losses

Not really. Most of it is commercial plantation.

Yes, very sad. Whether you like “commercial plantations” or not, they generally look better stood up than smashed to bits.

Not just conifers though, many mature specimens of Scots pine and native broadleaves blown down.

Ian wrote: ↑Fri Dec 03, 2021 8:48 am Yes, very sad. Whether you like “commercial plantations” or not, they generally look better stood up than smashed to bits.

Not just conifers though, many mature specimens of Scots pine and native broadleaves blown down.

This ^^
For those of us that work in the timber industry "commercial plantations" are a big, and necessary, industry.
In the Forest of Dean a number of mature oaks have lost large boughs or become unsafe and, as Ian says, a number of Scots Pines have fallen along with the Spruce and Larch. In this area where we were less badly affected than further north a lot of the windfall is in areas that have been recently exposed by the necessary excess felling of diseased trees over the last couple of years.
Replanting is even more important now than it had already become over the last few years.

Most of the wind fall that I saw yesterday were native species, not commercial forestry, not even looked at the closest one to the farm.

Something that struck me (not literally) when looking at the trees on the farm that had been toppled was how thin the soil was beneath them, maybe 30cm before the solid rock was exposed. That's not a lot so if the roots can't grow downwards then they have to grow horizontally. In the summer I'd repaired a section of wall and come across a substantial root, the only tree nearby was a solitary ash forty metres away! I'd assumed that most of the land was similar to the crop fields - 50cm or so of soil, top soil and sub soil then glacial till - the only time we ever dug below "plough depth" was when digging drains. What lies beneath? No idea is probably the truest answer.

So when a tree is toppled its root ball is going to be intertwined with its neighbours and thus it will weaken them so they are more likely to fall. Looking at those that had fallen in the wood behind the farm, they were all in a line, domino like.

Given that none, or very very few, of the trees will have fallen cleanly it's going to take a lot of work and time to clear things - you can't just head in there willy nilly with a chain saw - the trees are under tension so cutting one away could see one or more that it's lying on suddenly become a 30m trebuchet

There are people moaning about the lack of resilience in the power supply grid. Saying things like "there shouldn't be any trees near wires" etc. The thing is, they don't have to be. In storms like last weekend's big items go flying. Many years ago I woke up after a particularly windy night and wondered "where's that shed?" It had been ripped off its footings and dropped 150m away. It hadn't been dragged along the ground as there were two untouched stone walls either side of the lane between where it lay and where it should have been.

whitestone wrote: ↑Fri Dec 03, 2021 11:02 am There are people moaning about the lack of resilience in the power supply grid. Saying things like "there shouldn't be any trees near wires" etc. The thing is, they don't have to be. In storms like last weekend's big items go flying. Many years ago I woke up after a particularly windy night and wondered "where's that shed?" It had been ripped off its footings and dropped 150m away. It hadn't been dragged along the ground as there were two untouched stone walls either side of the lane between where it lay and where it should have been.

Funny isn't it - people say 'drop all trees around power lines!' but if they did, there would be a public outcry about the number of trees dropped....
Also thanks to privatised supply, building in resilience doesn't make for good profits!

There’s a thing called compensatory planting, which is an issue some electricity companies (and National Grid) are facing with clearance of powerlines (particularly for new lines). They have a requirement to plant quite a large area of woodland in various locations, but as they don’t own any land, they’re in quite a tricky position.

The latest blog at DMBiS https://dmbins.com/blog/storm-arwen-trail-update/ is saying all forests are closed - though goes on to list those that are open.....
Is it Forestry Scotland land that is closed i.e. 7 stanes etc? Are they just trying to keep the crowds out of GT, Inners etc?
Is Rothiemurcus, Moor of Feshie and Inshriach open? Colin has obviously been out.
Cheers

I have seen no "forest closed" signs up at all. There are some forest works ongoing and they have the normal "take care" signs in place. Much of the forestry in the area isn't FE of course but even the bits of that I've been through have no signs.

Can safely say I have never seen destruction like this. Spent the past week out on saws with SSE trying to clear some of the mess. Can easily believe it will take another few weeks before some folk have power again.

Feel for everyone without power but the amount of abuse the power line workers are getting is just mad. These folk are out working and trying their best and getting nothing but hassle. Have had something like 18 hours so sleep since the storm and looks like it could be the same hours again next few weeks.

Well done Keith, but sounds like you could do with looking after yourself first! Most people don't understand what it takes to get power to them and certainly not the work required now. Not receiving the service paid for is always reason to bitch, whatever the circumstances. Must be really hard without power and I'd be bitching, but not at those out in the cold doing the overtime.

Wish I lived closer so I could bring a few saws and help out.

I know it may not mean much, but from down here in the West Mids I’m appreciating all the graft you’re all putting in, I can’t even begin to imagine how exhausted you all must be

boxelder wrote: ↑Sat Dec 04, 2021 9:52 am Well done Keith, but sounds like you could do with looking after yourself first! Most people don't understand what it takes to get power to them and certainly not the work required now.

My sentiments exactly. Long days on a chainsaw, day after day, presents a significant risk for the operator, especially dealing with windblow in winter conditions.

Doffs cap to Keith.

Thanks but doing nothing special just trying my best to help folk who are starting to really struggle. The amount of cuppas and food we have been offered from people is heartwarming to say the least and makes everything worth it.

Electric companies have been struggling for years with the whole must plant x amount of trees on the land without potentially causing issues further down the road.