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Keltneyburn Gorge
Dyllan Struthers

.The gorge woodland flanks either side of the Keltneyburn and its tributary the Allt Coire Pheiginn and extends some 3 kilometres upstream of Keltneyburn Village at a height of around 100 to 280 metres in altitude. The ground flora of the woodland is species rich with a large number of uncommon plant species including a few national rarities; mixed broadleaved woods also cover the burn sides. Ash and wych elm are abundant here, and there are some areas of sessile oak, birch and goat willow. Keltneyburn is a representative of Tilio-Acerion forests in eastern/central Scotland. This is Gorge woodland which occurs on Dalradian schists, and the ground flora of the woodland is species-rich with a large number of higher plant species of restricted distribution. There are a large number of different plants on the woodland floor including some not found in many other parts of the UK. Mosses – especially some with a liking for base-rich rock – love the damp conditions in the gorge. The area has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is owned by the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
Conservation and Canyoning:
The right of responsible access introduced by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 extends to nature reserves and other conservation areas, but remember that these places are carefully managed for nature conservation and to safeguard rare animals and plants. Take care to avoid damaging the site or disturbing its wildlife, or interfering with its management or enjoyment by others. Depending on your activity, you might be requested to follow a specific route or to avoid exercising access rights in a specific area:
Only a few examples of wear and tear by canyoners are to be found at Keltneyburn, principally were canyoners leave the roadside to enter the water, a significant path is starting to appear through the woodland, damaging the fragile environment, particularly the bluebells. Little impact was found to the aquatic flora such as algae, liverworts and moss, although there will be some cloudy shallow pools depending on the number of people, which can have an adverse affect on some river fauna.
Canyoners should be required to be responsible to avoid riparian damage to the banks along the burn, keeping to the middle of the burn and avoid getting out along the banks. Exessive noise will disturb wildlife nesting birds and mammals .A minimum impact approach is neccesary .Ideally safety talks could be done at the roadside not in the woodland.photographers in the gorge are potentially the biggest threat creating new paths in the pristine wood land floor.Care must be taken to ensure that stones or boulders are not disturbed or turned up in the streambed.Wild brown trout spawn in the autumn and will be particularly stressed by canyoners at this time.
SCOTTISH OUTDOOR ACCESS CODE:

Exercising access rights responsibly: at a glance
You must exercise access rights responsibly and this part of the Code explains how you can do this. A summary of your main responsibilities is provided below.
1. Take personal responsibility for your own actions. You can do this by: caring for your own safety by recognising that the outdoors is a working environment and by taking account of natural hazards; taking special care if you are responsible for children as a parent, teacher or guide to ensure
that they enjoy the outdoors responsibly and safely.

2. Respect people’s privacy and peace of mind. You can do this by: using a path or track, if there is one, when you are close to a house or garden; if there is no path or track, by keeping a sensible distance from houses and avoiding ground that overlooks them from close by; taking care not to act in ways which might annoy or alarm people living in a house; and at night, taking extra care by keeping away from buildings where people might not be
expecting to see anyone and by following paths and tracks.

3. Help land managers and others to work safely and effectively. You can do this by: not hindering a land management operation, by keeping a safe distance and following any reasonable advice from the land manager; following any precautions taken or reasonable recommendations made by the land manager,
such as to avoid an area or route when hazardous operations, such as tree felling and crop spraying, are underway; checking to see what alternatives there are, such as neighbouring land, before entering a field of animals; never feeding farm animals; avoiding causing damage to crops by using paths or tracks, by going round the margins of the field, by going on any unsown ground or by considering alternative routes on neighbouring ground; and by leaving all gates as you find them.
4. Care for your environment. You can do this by: not intentionally or recklessly disturbing or destroying plants, birds and other animals, or geological features;
following any voluntary agreements between land managers and recreation bodies; not damaging or disturbing cultural heritage sites; not causing any pollution and by taking all your litter away with you.

5. Keep your dog under proper control. You can do this by: never letting it worry or attack livestock; never taking it into a field where there are calves or lambs;
keeping it on a short lead or under close control in fields where there are farm animals; if cattle react aggressively and move towards you, by keeping calm, letting the dog go and taking the shortest, safest route out of the field; keeping it on a short lead or under close control during the bird breeding season (usually April
to July) in areas such as moorland, forests, grassland, loch shores and the seashore; picking up and removing any faeces if your dog defecates in a public open place.
6. Take extra care if you are organising an event or running a business. You can do this by: Contacting the relevant land managers if you are organising an educational visit to a farm or estate; Obtaining the permission of the relevant land managers if your event needs facilities or services, or is likely, to an unreasonable extent, to hinder land management operations, Interfere with other people enjoying the outdoors or affect the environment; Talking to the land managers who are responsible for places that you use regularly or intensively.
Common species found in Keltneyburn Gorge:

Trees: 90% Native Woodland.

Common Ash Fraxinus excelsiorCommon Hazel Corylus avellana
Sessile Oak Quercus petraea
Goat Willow Salix caprea
Wych Elm Ulmus glabra
Silver birch Betula pendula
10% Introduced Species;

Hybrid Larch Larix eurolepis
Common Beech Fagus sylvatica

Common Spring Flowers: Appear before tree canopy covers the ground to maximise the amount of light they receive

Common Bluebell
Common Dog Violet
Lesser Celandine
Lady’s Mantle
Common Primrose
Wood anemone
Wood Sorrel
Moschatel (Town Hall Clock)
Wood Cranesbill
Barren Strawberry
Woodrush
Wild garlic (ramsons)
Butterbur
Meadowsweet

Mosses, Lichens, Ferns & Liverworts:

:Mosses: Mosses and liverworts belong to a group of plants known as the BRYOPHYTES. They are usually green, usually small, and are amongst the simplest of land-dwelling plants (a few are aquatic). They lack some of the complex structures seen in other types of plant - for example, they do not produce flowers or seeds, and most have no internal means for transporting water or nutrients.
Most have very little resistance to drying out, and are confined to areas, which are damp and sheltered.
Bryophytes have no roots, but they do have thin (one cell thick!) root-like structures, which serve for attachment and water absorption. These are known as rhizoids plants, which reproduce by spores, and have very simple structure. They have stems and leaves but no roots. Damp conditions are needed for fertilising.

Ferns: Leaves usually referred to as Fronds, which unwind as they grow. The spores underneath the leaves are how they reproduce.

Lichens: Consist of a fungus growing in close association with an alga. Highly sensitive to air pollution, therefore when there is an abundance of lichens, there is little air pollution. Frequently used to extract dyes in the past.

 
canyoning-scotland 2011