Scotland’s National Nature Reserves For further information about the Clyde Valley Woodlands National Nature Reserve please contact: Scottish Natural Heritage, 30 Hope Street, Lanark, ML11 7NE Tel. 01555 665928 Fax. 01555 661966 Email:
[email protected] The Story of the Clyde Valley Woodlands National Nature Reserve The Story of the Clyde Valley Woodlands National Nature Reserve Foreword The Clyde Valley Woodlands National Nature Reserve (NNR) is a real gem located on the very edge of Scotland’s Central Belt. The Reserve is made up of six discrete woodlands, and stretches almost 12 kilometres (km) along the meandering Clyde Valley from Hamilton to New Lanark. These woodlands occupy dramatic river gorges whose steep rugged sides are clothed in trees and mosses, a real escape from their agricultural setting. The Reserve has outstanding examples of the ancient, semi-natural, deciduous woodland which would once have covered great swathes of lowland central Scotland. In spring the woodlands come alive with colour and are carpeted with bluebells, wild garlic, wood anemone and wood sorrel. These woodlands and the ravine habitats are also home to a fascinating and unusual array of invertebrates. Beetles and hoverflies thrive amongst the deadwood whilst in the summer a rare species of caddis fly emerges from its larva. Visitors to the Reserve also have the rare opportunity to see badgers at close quarters and to watch peregrine falcons during the breeding season. The Clyde Valley Woodlands is one of 55 (2010) NNRs in Scotland. Scotland’s NNRs are special places for nature where some of the best examples of Scotland’s wildlife are managed.