CALLENDAR FOREST

This is the tree we park by. Don't you love the roots?

Calendar woods comprise 170 acres of property just a few minutes from our flat.

The\woods  have been in existence over 500 years. The wood was part of the Livingston family's Callendar Estate bought by William Forbes in 1783. Most of the wood was largely oak coppice woodland with extensive mine workings. In the 19th century the woods were transformed to more ornamental woodland with addition of a kennel, mausoleum, lodge houses, avenues and carriage way lined with specimen tree. Pine, larch and spruce were added. 

Visitors have over 6 miles of carriageways, tracks and paths most of them dating from the 1870's. In 1999 The Forestry Commission became the owners and began laying new paths, clearing the impenetrable Rhododendron scrub which had invaded 1/3 of the wood. 

This is the 3 par golf course. I am not real excited about walking near by when they have their golfers out as they only have this wee hedge to protect us and a small fence here and there about another 5 feet above the top of the hedge.

This looks like a fun place.

This is the par 3 Par golf house-not quite ready for the season.

Looks like the tree has warts.

We watched a man throw a stick into this brush. The poor dog ran from here to there looking for the stick from his master. He NEVER found The stick.

A few oak trees are about 250 years old, but most are younger because the woods were and still are managed for timber. You'll find other native trees such as Scots pine, aspen, rowan and birch and many yew trees. The Forbes family planted soaring North American conifers-the Dougls, noble and grand firs, sitka spruce, western hemlock and cypress. 

If you stay quiet, you might catch sight of a wood mouse or a shrew in the undergrowth and early or late in the day, a tod (fox) roe deer or bawkie-bird (bat). You could even hear the haunting cry of a hootlet (owl). We have heard the owl. 

This is the marker that is used on the trails. Red, Blue and Yellow. Red for longest and hardest, and then down from there. The Grades of Walking are listed as: Easy, Easy-going (muscle loosener), Moderate (waterproof footwear), Moderate-going (muscle stretcher), Strenuous (hill walking boots), Demanding (muscle builder). We were on this last one today.

Wanted to show you our real swans.

This is our miniature golf place. I don't know if they add any wooden structures like we have in the states or if this is just the way it is.