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Ballachuan Hazel Wood Oban Argyll & Bute |
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| Habitat: A Hazelwood with a rich ground flora and important for lichens. |
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| Description: The reserve is at the southern tip of Seil Island. It has developed over a low-lying hill with a series of boulder-strewn knolls along its summit. It includes hazelwood, wet grassland, marsh and a rocky shore. The woodland is almost pure hazelwood with a few oak and beech trees. The reserve has over 250 different species of lichen. Both the hazels and the occasional bird cherries are draped with mosses and lichens. Along the shoreline marine lichens colour the boulders. The wood has a rich ground flora and is a good site for breeding birds and summer migrants. The survival of the hazelwood is crucial to conserve this important lichen site and a fence has been erected round the reserve to reduce the risk of damage from grazing. |
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| Important for: Butterflies and Insects, Flowers, Lichens & Mosses, Mammals, Trees Best time to visit: April-September: Plants and Lichens, Herons and buzzards |
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| Points of interest: With over 250 species recorded, the reserve has been designated a site of international importance for lichens by the British Lichen Society. Beneath the hazels, the ground layer includes wood anenome, pignut, woodruff and wood melick. Fragrant orchid, northern marsh-orchid, ragged-Robin and thyme can be seen in the open areas of grassland and marsh. The narrow-leaved helliborine (a rare orchid recorded in only 29 sites in Britain) also grows here. Roe deer can occasionally be seen. Otters hunt along the shoreline and seals can often be seen close to the island. Many different kinds of butterflies and moths use the reserve including the scarce marsh fritillary butterfly. There is evidence of a long history of human habitation in the area, with numerous dry-stone built structures possibly dating from the Iron Age. |
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| To help you locate the reserve, click here for the map
website www.streetmap.co.uk
(Search for Landranger grid reference: NM763146 - the zoom button is below map to the right)  print page
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| Getting there: The reserve lies at the south eastern tip of Seil Island. From Oban take the A816 south. Turn onto the B844 towards Seil Island after about 8 miles. Once on the island take the B8003 at Balvicar. Park at Kilbrandon Church Access is along a rough track from Ballachuan Farm from the B8003. Parking is possible at Cuan Ferry about 500m from the farm. |
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