Scotland’s Finest Woods award Highly Commended for Craigston Castle

Scotlands-finest-woods-awards-2021

Craigston Castle has been Highly Commended in the Single Stand of Trees Category in Scotland’s Finest Woods Quality Timber Awards

“The woodland has clearly been well managed (albeit not intensively) through its 26 years and as with the rest of the estate, regular thinnings will continue until clearfell in the mid-2030s. The judges felt that this wood clearly demonstrated what can be achieved through careful and economic management, and were in no doubt that it will produce high quality logs for the Scottish industry and hence a valuable asset for its owner.”

Scotland’s Finest Woods

Meanwhile guests, friends and family enjoy these beautiful woodlands originally planted by Bruce Urquhart many years ago.

“Craigston was mortgaged when he inherited it from his father during the Second World War, but while other, richer Scottish estates were being sold off, Bruce Urquhart painstakingly built this one back up, tree by tree…… He was always keen to talk about the minutiae of forestry and conservation – areas where his pioneering expertise was acknowledged by Fellowship of the Linnean Society and by an OBE. But with him the greenest thoughts in the greenest of shades could be startlingly disrupted. Well into his eighties he would break off in mid-sentence, scramble up a tree and attack some superfluous branch with one of the saws and hatchets which, whenever he was out of doors, seemed to grow out of the ends of his arms.”

The Independent

See the rest of this article in The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-bruce-urquhart-of-craigston-1621105.html


William, who studied forestry as part of his degree at Edinburgh University, with the support of his Forestry advisor Angus Dixon, his uncle Alex and Bill Morisson has continued Bruce’s forestry and conservation efforts and welcomes this award in recognition of the quality of the woods that stand today.

Here is the award and covering letter from Scotland’s Finest Woods: