Friends of Fullarton
Looking After Fullarton Woods in Troon
Linda Brown
Fullarton Woods on the outskirts of Troon, have long been a quiet haven thriving with wildlife and natural beauty. A spectacular display of snowdrops carpets the woodland floor every January, bluebells blossom each spring and in autumn the trees are a blaze of amber and gold. Great spotted woodpeckers, nuthatches and grey squirrels move among the treetops, foxes slink through the undergrowth and, if you’re very lucky, you might spy roe deer hiding quietly among the trees.
However, more than a decade ago, Fullarton Woods had fallen into a sorry, neglected state. The ground was frequently flooded and trees had toppled; many being drowned by excess water. Paths were overgrown, and litter and vandalism were rife.
“A group of interested locals decided something needed to be done about it,” Anne Stobbs tells me. “Funds were raised to hire diggers to improve the drainage, resurface the main avenue, and organise a big litter pick.”
I’m chatting about Friends of Fullarton with Anne, the charity’s Secretary, and Miranda McLean, its Chair. Formed back in 2015, the group has been a small but busy bunch of hardworking and dedicated volunteers ever since. They enjoy a good relationship with South Ayrshire Council, who own Fullarton Woods, and collaborate closely with both the Council and the South Ayrshire Rangers Service, the woodland managers, to care for and maintain the grounds.
“Drainage has been an ongoing problem,” Miranda explains. “The ground is peaty and flat, and climate change means we have much more rain than we used to.”
Over the years, Friends of Fullarton have undertaken a wide range of projects including planting native tree saplings, clearing brambles, cutting back undergrowth, and removing invasive plant species such as rhododendron and Himalayan balsam. They’ve installed bat and bird boxes too – and clean them out annually.
“We like to encourage community involvement and have groups come to help with tree planting and seed sowing,” Anne says. “We have links with organisations like the Woodland Trust, who provided our charity with free trees to plant, Scottish Wildlife Trust, the Nectar Network, and Troon Allotment Society.”
Friends of Fullarton have invited local schools to visit. Pupils from both primary and secondary schools gained hands-on experience, helping to plant a wildlife hedge of hazel and willow, while learning about nature, bio-diversity and the woodland’s birdlife. These school visits sow seeds in more ways than one, helping to nurture and shape the next generation’s relationship with the natural world.
Each year the group organises ‘A Spring into Nature’ walk – a free guided walk offering tips on how to find and identify plants, animals and insects. They also host ‘Bat and Moth Nights’ guided by South Ayrshire Rangers. Participants are provided with bat detectors to locate bats by their sound and are taught to identify different moths.
Friends of Fullarton member, Alison Gemmill, has led a popular history walk around the grounds. The woodland is named after the long-demolished Fullarton House, built by the Fullarton family around 1745, but its historic roots stretch back to medieval times. The ruins of Crosbie Castle can still be explored among the trees, and the remains of the old chapel, Crosbie Kirk, sit at the woodland’s edge. During the eighteenth century, smugglers cut through the woods carrying contraband – tea, brandy, wine and silk – landed on the nearby shore then transported inland. This shadowy past is now celebrated by Troon’s Smugglers’ Trail which passes through Fullarton.
A recent initiative is the creation of a Moon Meadow planted with pollinating plants and wildflowers in an area that had been clear felled of rhododendron and left fallow for several years to allow the soil to recover from the impact of the invasive species.
“The Moon Meadow will attract a variety of butterflies and, because there’s no lighting at night, it will benefit moths too,” Miranda says.
Looking to the future, Friends of Fullarton plan to create both a self-guided nature trail and a history trail, with QR codes offering walkers’ stories and information as they wander through the woods.
Friends of Fullarton’s volunteer workers meet at the woods on the last Sunday morning of every month between ten o’clock and noon. Tasks vary from season to season – litter picking, tidying the pathways, cutting back the ever-growing brambles, maintaining the wildlife hedge. New volunteers are always warmly welcomed and, Anne and Miranda emphasise, greatly needed. No experience is necessary and tools are provided. What matters most are enthusiasm and willingness to lend a hand.
“Our main aim is to keep the woods to a good standard so that people can enjoy them,” Miranda adds. “I like to think Fullarton Woods are the ‘lungs of Troon’ – a green space where walkers, cyclists and families can get away from it all and relax.”
Sounds exactly like my kind of
place – see you there soon?
Website – www.friendsoffullarton.co.uk
Facebook – Friends of Fullarton
