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Access to the Reserve Balgavies Loch lies off the A932, 4 miles east of Forfar. The Viewpoint has parking for 5 cars and offers views of the east end of the loch. The hide and its car park is at the west end of the loch. There is open access to the newly completed circular path (with stiles) and the hide is open to the public. PRINT OUT a copy of this Web page and take it with you when you visit the reserve. SUPPORT
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Why not visit another of our reserves? Choose from the list below and click on your choice. |
NO 523 516
O.S. Sheet 54
Balgavies Loch is a reserve of 53ha in size. It has one of the most extensive associations of wetland habitats in the area, which range from the open water of the loch to dense willow and alder carr.
It supports an outstanding assemblage of plants, wintering geese and breeding wildfowl.
One of a series of wetlands in the Upper Lunan Valley, Balgavies Loch is surrounded by intensively farmed agricultural land. On its southern side it is bounded by an "esker", a sinuous ridge of sand and gravel deposited by meltwater flowing beneath the narrow river glacier which carved out the valley, and on the north by the track of the former Forfar-Arbroath railway line. Reedbeds fringe the loch; to the west there is extensive fen and, on the higher ground, one of the few remaining oakwoods in Angus.
The waters of the loch once supported an eel fishery, with the traps located at the outflow of the Lunan Burn from Balgavies Loch and at the outflow of the neighbouring Rescobie Loch. The loch also contains perch, pike and trout which keep the cormorants, grey herons and otters of the area well-fed. Summer breeding birds include mute swan, sedge warbler, reed bunting and great crested grebe, while eight species of duck regularly occur on passage or in winter. Spectacular numbers of greylag and pink-footed geese congregate to roost on the water and whooper swans visit on passage.
At the water's edge, plants such as water-lily, yellow iris and bogbean grow alongside cowbane, which is at its northern limit here. The marsh and fen areas are covered largely with willow carr and bog myrtle, interspersed with tall plants such as meadowsweet. These, in turn, overshadow the tiny greenish- yellow spikes of the coralroot orchid and the yellow flowers of the rare tufted loosestrife.
Active conservation measures include erecting rabbit-exclusion fencing, improving the woodland by planting a mixture of native trees, and removing invasive plants and scrub which threaten the existence of more fragile species along the railway line.
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