Uig Wood - Uig, Portree

Site Description

The Uig Wood owned by the Woodland Trust form a strip of woodland around the northwest and south-eastern side of Uig village on the Trotternish Peninsula of Skye. The wood consists of 2 steep sided gulley woods on the Rha and Conon burns that are linked by a flat wood that fringe the shoreline around the eastern sections of Uig bay. Altitude ranges from sea level at the bay to approximately 150m above sea level at the North Eastern point of Rha wood.

The most striking physical attribute of the woods is the steep gorge sides of the Rha and Conon Rivers. These form almost sheer cliffs in places with a spectacular waterfall in the Rha glen. The underlying geology of the area is igneous basaltic rock. This gives rise to a range of soils that are generally fertile. Soils on higher sloping ground are fairly freely draining while those lower down are damp and particularly fertile. The MLURI climate map identifies the area as exposed, warm and wet with extremely mild winters.

The wood of 18.5ha, owned and managed by the Woodland Trust, is predominantly broadleaved species mainly ash, hazel, alder, birch and elm. It is one of the most extensive broadleaved woodlands in the north west of Skye and is although there are some grazed hazel woods nearby, the woodland is very much isolated.

The core of the 2 ravine woods is dominated by ash / wych elm with hazel but these have been modified by the planting of conifers (larch, sitka spruce and Scots pine) and exotic broadleaves (sycamore, Norway maple and occasional horse chestnut and lime). The woods are classified as being ancient woodland of long established plantations origin on the 1860 maps and are listed in the Local Plan as a Local Natural Heritage Site.

The shore wood comprises planted sycamore, maple, elm and mixed conifers but there is also a significant component of alder and ash that are likely to be of native origin. The wood was originally planted as a policy wood and shelterbelt. It was grazed by cattle until 1998 but all stock is now excluded from the wood.

Ground flora varies widely throughout the wood. At the base of the ravines where soils are damp and fertile, ramsons and nettles are common. On higher ravine edges, grasses and bracken dominate the ground flora. In the shore wood, it is predominantly grassy with a large population of dockens caused by past cattle poaching. There is little under storey although hazel is found on the steeper slopes within the ravine woodlands. The canopy is 80% closed with mature trees (100 yrs+). More recent regeneration of hazel and occasional ash is found in the Conon and Rha glens with areas of recently planted trees, mainly ash and alder (2000-2003).

Dutch elm disease is thought to be present in the wood and could result in the demise of the elms over the next few years. It is likely that the sycamore already present in the woods will expand to fill the niche vacated by the elm.

Overall, Rha Glen again proved to have the richest lichen flora, with 107 taxa recorded, and includes notable species such as Pseudocyphellaria crocata, recorded on elm and alder. Conon Glen was not without interest, with 92 taxa recorded, including as notable species Lobaria scrobiculata and Pannaria mediterranea (Coppins 2001).

The Conon and Rha burns provide a varied water habitat of pools, waterfalls and rocky ravine edges and cliffs. The western boundary of the shore wood extends to the high water mark and includes an area of open shore grassland. The lichen flora of the wood has been assessed in 1999 and in 2001 and forms a rich and diverse community The wood provides sheltered humid conditions and good growing sites (large broadleaved trees, rocks and stone walls) which are rare in this part of Skye.

There is a fairly well constructed drystane dyke around the shore wood which is of local historical interest and has been the focus of a local schools project involving its reinstatement and interpretation. The small area of woodland between the pier and Staffin roads contains the line of an old disused track that used to connect them. There is an old burial ground to the north of the River Conon just to the east of the road bridge.

The Trotternish Peninsula of the north of Skye is a largely treeless landscape, especially on the western side. The ravine woodlands of Rha Glen and Conon Glen at Uig represent probably the sole remaining example of native woodland with mature trees of ash and elm on the north-western side of Skye, and as such are of considerable local importance.

The history of the woodlands prior to their purchase by the Woodland trust is patchy. Conon and Shore woods were purchased from Department of Agriculture (DAFS) in 1988 with Rha Wood purchased in the same year from a Mr W. McDade who is referred to as having acquired the wood from DAFS with a view to house building.

The main recent management activity carried out by DAFS was probably planting. Around 1970, Sitka spruce, larch and sycamore were planted in both Rha and Conon Woods. Sycamore was planted in Shore Wood towards the mid 1970s. Some of the Douglas and Silver fir present within the shorewood until the January 2005 gales where from earlier plantings perhaps at the turn f the century.

Since their purchase by the Woodland Trust in 1988, most of the young conifers have been removed and some of the open areas have been restocked with native broadleaves in tree shelters. Much of this work was carried out under a Forestry Commission grant contract that ran from 1992 to 1997. Stocks are now excluded from the wood which is currently under a WGS contract signed in July 1999. This scheme has been largely focused on improving access and information in the woods (see below).

There is a well constructed crushed rock footpath through Shore Wood which links to the main entrances for Rha and Conon Woods. In both these woods there are short paths that allow access for 1- 200m into the bottom of the ravines. The wood is divided into two sections by the main Portree to Uig road. This is a busy route during the summer months with traffic crossing to the Outer Isles by ferry from Uig daily. The wood is mainly used by locals, although some tourists travelling west use the footpaths whilst waiting at the Uig Ferry terminal to the western isles. Due to the steep terrain and surrounding crofting ground, there is limited access linking the woodland with the surrounding landscape.

In Rha wood the path ends with an impressive view of the waterfall. In both ravines, access further up the glen is not encouraged due the steepness of the slopes. There is an interpretative board in shore wood by the village hall entrance and parking is available at the Post Office and at the village hall. We have been working with the local primary school over a number of years undertaking tree planting and an interpretative project ‘Hearting’ based around the reinstatement of the drystone dyke and planting within the wood.