Welcome to Lochend Woods
Dunbar Community Woodland Group is a volunteer run charity (SC034990) that manages the woods on behalf of the community. We aim to:
- Manage Lochend Woods as a community resource
- Maximise potential for educational and recreational use
- To value and nurture wildlife
- To steward the environment, and maintain pathways and waterways
- Encourage all who use the woods to treat them with respect, to clear litter and to discourage damage to the trees and wildlife habitats
- Encourage group membership and conservation volunteering
Enjoy the Woods
Lochend Stones ↗
Seven carved stone artworks appear as curious ruins, with each stone carrying a carving that draws on an historical event that has taken place nearby.
Donate
If you are short of time or for whatever reason cannot join as a member, a one-off donation will go a long way to supporting a vibrant public woodland for future generations to enjoy too
About Lochend Woods
Lochend Woods form a lovely part of our town and for those of us lucky enough to live close to them, they play an integral part of our lives too. They belong to the people of Dunbar, and their care and maintenance is the responsibility of all who live in the town.
Dunbar Community Woodland Group (DCWG) was set up as a Registered Charity (SC034990) in 2003 to oversee these responsibilities. Membership is open to anyone and everyone who wants to see Lochend Woods looked after for the wellbeing of all and for the benefit of wildlife.
Ownership of 45 acres of the easterly portion of Lochend Woods was eventually transferred to the community in 2007 and Dunbar Community Woodland Group have been managing it since with a view to improving:
- Safety
- Accessibility: for walkers and cyclists
- Recreation opportunities
- Wildlife value
- Educational opportunities
- Appearance (landscape)
- Timber value
We are indebted to a great many local people, who have given their volunteer time and energy to make this all happen.
Grant aid from Forest Land Scotland enabled us to renew and create paths in 2010, under the ‘Woodlands in and Around Towns’ initiative and we would like to thank the Community Woodlands Association for their ongoing support.
The Woods were originally part of the extensive lands and Barony of Lochend, and was the home of Sir Gideon Baillie in the early 17th Century. The Baillies held the estate until 1664 when it was purchased by Sir Robert Sinclair of Longformacus. In 1708 the Lochend Estate was sold to George Warrender, merchant of Edinburgh, who became the first Warrender baronet in 1715. The Warrenders held the family seat until 1947 when Sir Victor Warrender sold the farms of Eweford and Hallhill with Lochend Wood to a local farmer.
In 1997 planning permission was granted to Ross Developments Ltd to build 500 houses on the farmland around the woods. This included constructing an access road cutting through the woods and splitting them in two. Further house building has taken place since the first plan was drawn up so that the woods are now almost completed surrounded by houses, an expanding business park and busier roads. Consequently there is not just more visitor pressure, but the vital natural connections to the wider countryside have either been lost or are at risk of degrading.
Recent Updates
The gardens of Lochend House in the late 1800s would have been spectacular – but we can only imagine
