West Island Way

November 2025: Clearing fallen trees on the Suidhe Wood path Yet more damage from fallen trees! - this time across the Suidhe Wood path at Kilchattan Bay on Stage 2 of Bute’s West Island Way. Pictures are some of  team of volunteers cutting and clearing the branches.

overhanging tree branch that was threatening to cause damage to the roof. Pictured are Billy Shields in action on the roof plus one of some of the volunteers inside the Hide after completing all the work.

Tree-cutting and other work at the Loch Quien Bird Hide With a full turnout of our Bute Conservation Volunteers we cleared the overgrown approach to the hide, replaced worn screening by planting willow, repaired the entrance walkway and (last but not least) cut an….

Another successful completion of Bute’s ‘West Island Way’ Thanks to Nat and his son for completing the West Island Way and giving us a report on the experience. Thanks also for the Membership Donation to support the work of the Trust in looking after our paths and signage.

It seems that, after sitting quietly near the standing stones for about 20 years, someone recently reversed a vehicle into the old one, breaking both its ‘legs’.

Billy is often behind the camera taking the pictures but in this one he’s seen putting the finishing touches to our replacement frame for the map and information board - as well as having made the new frame. It’s at the popular ancient stone ‘circle’ at the Black Park.

Pictured are: a new Interpretation Panel on the bridge over to the cairn; our volunteers clearing the access around the lower end of the cairn; and the volunteer team taking a break.

During the Neolithic Period (approx 4500 - 2200 B.C.) communities constructed chambered cairns for the burial of the dead. Grave goods were often deposited with the dead in order to help them in the afterlife. There are several well-preserved tombs on Bute. Contd in comments..

Cairnbaan (the white cairn on account of the many white quartz boulders) in Lenihuline Wood stretches for 30 metres with stone chambers at the top and bottom of the cairn. Contd. in comments

Our volunteers cut the grass and maintain the young trees at the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Garden at Ettrick Bay. We’ve seen the remains of several camp fires whilst trimming the grass. New signage asks campers to please avoid lighting fires in the Memorial Garden area.

The bridge over the Mill Burn at Kilchattan Bay was replaced only a few years ago. Sand erosion had created a drop at one end. Our volunteers constructed a new step to make life easier for walkers. Here is Jock taking a well-deserved rest after a lot of sawing and hammering!)

The team were hard at work this morning on the West Island Way route at the very south end of Bute. Firstly, two new waymarkers installed. Secondly, repairing a broken gate at Loch na Leighe (pictured before and after, with Billy putting the finishing touches to it).

April 2025: Asking all walkers to ‘Please close this gate’ Livestock can wander through gates left open by walkers and cause a problem for farmers. So we have added new signage to some gates. But with or without a Notice, walkers should close all gates securely behind them.

Storm damage on Garrison Road path now cleared The recent major storm brought down large trees across the West Island Way path section known as the Garrison Road near Port Bannatyne. Very many thanks to the Mount Stuart Estate foresters for their good work in clearing the path.

WEST ISLAND WAY CLOSED. Due to wild fires the West Island Way is closed between Glenmore Farm and Hilton till further notice.

Overgrown whins and a boggy path were making conditions unpleasant on the West Island Way. Volunteers spent the morning clearing a long stretch of whins to create solid ground for the path. Meanwhile Euan and Donald fixed a gate that had dropped because of a rotted timber post.

Our replacement boards from Bute Signs (with attractive drone images from Paul Simpson) have a modern look and include QR Codes for our two websites. Thanks also to our volunteers and the Co-op Community Fund for covering the costs involved.

March 2025: New Information + Picture Boards for Scalpsie, Quien, Straad and St Blane’s. Although the images on the original boards had lasted well, they had deteriorated a bit over time. Plus some posts were rotten and the Straad one was completely down. More…

February 2025: Hedge planting at Scalpsie Farm The Bute Conservation Volunteers were delighted to spend a sunny morning helping to plant a new hedge at Scalpsie Farm.

February 2025: Clearing storm damage at Greenwood Crossing on the Tramway Path Thanks to a large group of our Conservation Volunteers, a windblown beech tree has been cleared to restore access for walkers on the Tramway Path.