-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Related Web Page
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
A beautiful community woodland located within walking distance from the village of Creetown in South West Scotland. Named from the Gaelic ‘bealach’, referring to a ford over the Balloch Burn, it has also been called Ballochanamour in the past.
The woodland follows the course of the Balloch Burn from the hills west of Creetown to the Cree Estuary. Linear in shape, and several kilometres long, it offers a range of walks through a richly varied woodland of Larch, Oak, Scots Pine, Beech, Italian Alder and other species.
The woodland changes with the seasons, carpeted with primroses and blue bells in spring while in late autumn ochre coloured Larch needles cover the forest floor. Wildlife is plentiful with a healthy red squirrel population, woodpeckers, tree creepers, great and coal tits, and roe deer.
Remains of mill and quarry industries from the 18th century, and several sites of archaeological interest including a ‘Chalybeate well’ where iron deposits turn the water red, provide further features of interest for the visitor. These are complimented by recent artistic projects, including a poetry stone circle, a traditional built roundhouse and hand crafted benches scattered along the walking routes.
The cache is a Tupperware box located within the Oak trail. It contains cards with an email address. Creetown Primary School children will plant a tree or fruit bush within the woods for each and every logged visit. In order to log your visit please bring a postcards or photograph of your home town to leave in the cache. Due to Geocaching.com and Earthcache.org now requiring that the finder has to prove that they have learnt something you will also have to answer the following question – What is written on the Oak plinth located within the Oak Trail and email me with the answer.
Follow the way marked forest trails which lead to the cache location. There are various trails leading to the cache area allowing a short stroll or extended walk.
Parking: is available in the centre of Creetown by the Clock Tower for those wanting to carry out the extended walk encompassing the BURNSIDE TRAIL, POND TRAIL & OAK TRAIL (6km, 3 hours moderate walk)
Lat 54°54'6.120" Long -004°22'45.120"
Parking : is also available at Balloch Bridge on the Old Military Road, by the Wildlife Ponds for those wanting a shorter stroll, the OAK TRAIL (1.2km, 40min easy/moderate walk)
Lat 54°54'.210" Long -004°21'.166
Burnside Trail: From the car park, turn right onto the main street then left at the signpost for Kirkmabreck Church. Follow the road uphill, around various bends, past the church to the start of the path through Balloch Wood. Turn left into the woodland at the entrance board and follow waymarkers for the Burnside Trail.
Immediately upon entering the wood you come to the Balloch wood stone circle: seven granite slabs distinctively elevated off the ground on stainless steel pillars. Each stone has been inscribed with haiku poems written by local schoolchildren and local iconography to provide the visitor with thoughts for their walk through the wood.
Continuing past the Stone Circle the path initially follows the edge of the wood through a mixture of conifer and broadleaf woodland, including a stands of Italian Alders.
A fork in the path marks the outward and return legs of the loop - you may either turn up right into the larch trees along a woodland ride which provides easier access through the forest for the less able, or keep left alongside the dry stane dyke on your left hand side. Keeping left, the path soon makes a sharp bend to the right as you approach the Balloch Burn, running through the steep sided gorge below. Beyond here the path starts to climb through the mixed woodland above the burn, the only section which has never been planted and therefore remains as nature intended, before descending into the gorge where a mass of woodrush, hanging ivy, ferns and mosses cling to the sedimentary Greywacke stone walls. Grey wagtails can sometimes be seen darting from boulder to boulder over the fast-flowing burn.
Also look out for the ‘Chalybeate’, or ‘Red Well’ appearing as a hole in the rock on the far side of the burn these days, however, is highly poisonous and not for drinking!
Slightly further along the path is a further interpretation panel about red squirrels and a feeding station. The endangered red squirrel thrives in woodlands like Balloch Wood, and its bushy tail can often be seen bounding from tree to tree. One of the best times to see squirrels is during the months of January and February when their courtship chases take place and the trees are without leaves making squirrels easy to spot!
Soon the path leaves the burn and begins to climb up to the right, with a dry stane dyke and a small stream on your left hand side as far as Cardoon Bridge (formerly marked as a ford on mid 19th century maps), whose name derives from the Gaelic for bubbling stream. This point marks the meeting point of three paths, with the Pond Trail indicated by a wooden post over the Bridge, and a stone slab indicating both the Burnside Trail back the way you have come, along with the Larch Trail returning back through the larch trees to your starting point. Continuing along the Pond Trail you will notice an immediate change in the nature of the forest to more coniferous woodland, although this changes as the path climbs eastwards. This section of trail probably demonstrates the widest variety of trees present in Balloch Wood.
Continuing along the path, the trail gently winds through forest and clearings towards the moorland which starts to open up on the right hand side in the direction of Larg Hill. Passing through a gap in a wall you find yourself in a coppice of at least eight different species of broadleaf trees, including Hawthorn, Beech, Birch, Rowan and Italian alder.
A bench crafted in beech wood is provided at this point to provide visitors with somewhere to sit and reflect.The path descends shortly after this through some Larch trees, and Norway and Sitka spruce before the path diverges again at a small bridge. Take the right hand branch to the Garrochar Wildlife Ponds.
From here follow the Oak Trail.
Oak Trail: The Oak Trail leads directly from the Garrochar Wildlife Ponds and is characterised by a wonderful variety of broadleaf trees, including Oak, Rowan, Birch, Ash, Beech and Sycamore.
To start the trail cross the Old Military Road directly opposite the Roundhouse and cross the recently built Darach Bridge over the Balloch Burn.
After crossing the bridge the path starts to wind through an avenue of newly planted lime trees, surrounded by mature birch trees, wild cherry, ash and other ancient broadleaf woodland. As the path bends to the right views start to open up over the wall on your left hand side and beech trees become the predominant species. A line of alternating oak and beech trees along the length of the wall originally marked the boundaries of land ownership.
An oak plinth marks a change in the nature of the woodland from predominantly beech to oak, 54°54'.343" Long -004°21'.024”, while views open up beyond an ancient beech tree towards the Cairnsmore and Merrick hills. Honeysuckle commonly grows on the dyke and skylarks can frequently be spotted over the open fields beyond. Looking the other direction into the woodland one can spot some redwood trees deep in the forest and in winter you can see Larg Hill through the trees in the distance.
A couple of hundred metres on the path forks amongst the silver birch. Taking the upper trail you continue through the birches before dropping down to the right and rejoining the lower path. At the fork select the lower, right hand, path back towards Garrochar Wildlife Ponds. A hundred metres along this trail the path passes an unscheduled monument on the right hand side whose origin is still to be discovered.
Continuing along this trail leads back to the Garrocher ponds and back along the route to the village. You may also follow the road back to the village, which leads directly down to the clock tower starting point.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gur Pnpur vf cynprq jvguva gur fgbarf bs gur hafpurqhyrq zbahzrag.