Looming Douglas Firs
Hunters Hill has been in continuous forestry, always evolving and developing, for at least four centuries and many of the large Douglas Fir and European Larch planted in the 1890s are retained purely to marvel at their majestic size and amenity value.
Commitment to biodiversity
The Estate woodland was one of the first to enter the Forestry Commission approved 10-year Forest Plan in 2001. This plan was reviewed in 2011 and updated for a further 10-year period. The plan places great emphasis on continuous cover forestry and all felled areas are re-stocked with a variety of hardwoods and commercial conifers to promote biodiversity and income for the Estate.
Parts of the woodlands were included in the ‘Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland (1987)’, in which they obtained an outstanding rating in five of the six assessed categories.
We have a 20-year plan for the trees on the estate and we know where we are going with everything – what’s coming down and what’s getting planted, all to conserve and develop the wooded areas.
Our timber business
Our commercial timber is predominantly from good quality Larch which was planted in the 1950s. The Estate has had a long-term commitment to produce income from timber sales whilst continuing to improve the landscape and conservation value from the woodlands.
The Sawmill
Conifer timber from the woodlands on the Estate is primarily converted in the sawmill for fencing and joinery products or sold to Angus Biofuels for chipping to supply woodfuel boilers in local schools.