The Tree Trail

Trees are best appreciated in person, and here on the Plock is no exception! During the winter and spring of 2021/22, we developed a new attraction: the Plock tree trail. Many people came along to help us plant a community woodland – these trees are now several years old and flourishing. In time, they will create habitat that will provide home to numerous species – and create more places of pause and contemplation for us.

Our wonderful conservation volunteers helped us install benches as contemplation posts. In some of the most spectacular places on the Plock, here you can spend time in nature and let peace soak into your soul. Thanks to the Skye Bridge Trust for their very kind donation towards these benches, we’ve been able to create perfect spots for relaxation on the Plock.

More school children have visited to take part in events centred around the Tree Trail, which lends itself to orienteering events, treasure hunts, and mini-adventures. There’s always more development due to happen on the Tree Trail, but for now we’d love for you to explore and discover more.
As you go around the trail you will see information boards. In the bottom left hand corner QR codes bring you back to a secret part of this website from which you can find out more about all the trees. We look forward to seeing you on the Trail!

Social Strolls are a supportive and welcoming way for you to start to enjoy the many benefits of being physically active.

A Social Stroll:

• is led by a trained leader on a risk assessed route
• has a short warm up at the start, followed by a brisk walk and then a short cool down at the end
• welcomes new walkers who would benefit from being more active
• is a friendly group walk offered regularly
• is an opportunity to meet new people in your area and explore places you might not have been before

Social Strolls are aimed at all but particularly at inactive or isolated people who would benefit most from doing more physical activity and spending time with others. This can include people who haven’t been active for a while and would like to start again, people recovering from ill health or who are managing a long-term condition and anyone who’s been told by a health professional that they would benefit from being more active.

Social Strollers can enjoy a whole range of benefits including increased fitness, improved mood and increased social interactions with local people and the local area. Walking requires no special equipment or expense and is the ideal way for most people to become more active.

Our walks take place every Wednesday. Meet on the Plock in the middle car park at 11am. The last Wednesday of every month will see walkers go further afield in Lochalsh. Please book a place on these walks by contacting info@lochalsh.uk.

We also have opportunities for people to undergo training to become a Social Stroll leader. This voluntary position includes training, and is fully supported. The training is undertaken by Paths for All, and is completely free. Due to there being several leaders on rotation, this is an excellent opportunity that doesn’t require much commitment from you. If interested in finding out more, get in touch with us at info@lochalsh.uk.

Hi, I am Heather, the Plock Ranger. This page is designed to be your introduction to the Plock: here I will share my monthly plan, detailing what’s to come. This will include wildlife spotting hints and tips, ideas for what to look out for, the work I will be doing – both the practical and the less obvious computer/ reporting type work, and a list of what’s on. Just click on the preview below to view the report.

If there’s anything you’d like to hear more about, please just say! There’s a contact box below, and you can reach me through it.

In addition to this Monthly Plan, you can find the occasional educational, informative or creative blogs in the side bar to the right of this page. I hope you enjoy finding out more about what’s going on on the Plock – both the human activities and the secret lives of our animals.

In preparation for taking the ownership of the Plock from Hamilton Park Trustees, KLCT applied successfully to the Scottish Land Fund to develop a Masterplan for the Plock and the Toll Office which would help us visualise our community’s aspirations for these assets.

In March 2020, we secured a funding package to deliver a range of activities at the Plock and the Toll Office for 3 years. The work programme was delayed due to Covid but staff were appointed at the end of 2020 and work is progressing now. The capital works at the Toll Office has taken place and sign off is awaited. This work has given disabled access to the Toll Office, created a community space and allowed us to host a range of outdoor events and groups to the Plock.

Green Activities

One of the clear messages that came out of the Plock Masterplan in 2018 was that our community would love to see more activities happening at the Plock, with specific emphasis on nature and well-being activities and events. Since then, we have worked to understand what activities local people would like to see and how to link them with some of the main local issues experienced in Kyle and the surrounding area.

In the process, we developed some strong relationships with the Highland Green Health Partnership, our GP practice and local organisations supporting vulnerable people in our community. Thanks to this work, in summer 2019 Kyle of Lochalsh was chosen as one of 3 areas in the Highlands to test social prescribing of green activities.

Delivering the Masterplan has allowed us to employ a Ranger and Outdoor Learning & Well-being Officer, to deliver a range of activities for all ages and abilities, conservation volunteering opportunities and organise a events at the Plock.

Community Shed

Creation of a Community Shed at the Toll Office is included in Delivering the Masterplan. The capital work has created a space for the community shed. Our funding will help us to appoint tutors who will help people in learning new skills either in wood-working, DIY, electronics or whatever the users might want to learn. The start date for this has been delayed but we hope to have progress soon

As with many areas in the UK, our community would like to see a safe space created for men and women who might either find it hard to socialise, would like to learn some new skills or just do some practical work in a safe environment. The benefits of Men’s Sheds or Community Sheds are wide-ranging and significant for the individuals involved; from improving mental health, boosting self-confidence, reducing anxieties to learning new skills or making new friends.

Time frame: September 2019

Funding: £354,975 (part of 3 years of funding for activities at the Plock)

Funders: National Lottery Heritage Fund, National Lottery Community Fund, Highland Green Health Partnership, Skye Bridge Trust, Kyle & Lochalsh Community Trust, LEADER, Think Health Think Nature, Baillie Gifford