Forsinard Flows

With an improvement in the weather (some of the time anyway!) we are starting to see the return of our breeding wildlife at Forsinard Flows. Birds such as Golden Plover, skylarks and Hen Harrier are back in the area for the summer as well as many of the other peatland inhabitants like common lizard and red deer.

Our Visitor Centre, located in the old railway building by the level crossing, is open 7 days a week (0900…

Normally our Forsinard Flows visitor centre closes at the end of October, but this winter we will be staying OPEN on reduced hours.

If you're looking for for some fresh air and a wee walk on the wild side then why not come and explore the Dubh Lochains trail and see if you can spot any red deer stags from the Flows Lookout Tower.

Click on the attached poster for the full winter opening times for the Forsinard Visitor…

Important Information - Changes to Scotrail Timetable

Visitors planning to visit the Forsinard Flows reserve should check train times at https://www.scotrail.co.uk/ following major changes to the timetable for rail travel in Scotland.

There has been a reduction in the number of trains running on the North Coast line which might impact on your travel plans.

Forsinain Trail - Notification of Trail Changes

Over the winter the Forsinain Trail as been closed while we undertook peatland restoration work next to the trail. We are now pleased to have re-opened the trail and are in the process of upgrading signage and infrastructure.

As a result of the peatland restoration work we have had to change a small section of the trail where the original trail ran through a restoration…

For visitors intending to visit the Forsinard Flows nature reserve between 4th October and 24th December 2021 please be aware of the Temporary Traffic Prohibition Order on the A897 issued by Highland Council.

Click on the image below for the details of the order.

Temporary Traffic Prohibition Order on the A897

Welcome back to Forsinard Flows

We want you to feel welcome and enjoy connecting to nature here in safety

Despite some RSPB reserve facilities re-opening  we have had to make some changes around the reserve to help keep everyone safe. Please read the information below before you visit and when you arrive check the information board for the latest.

General Guidance 

• We ask that you please follow the guidance on the signage…

Forsinard Flows Reserve Closed (COVID19)

Following the latest instructions from the Government for us all to remain at home apart from a limited number of allowed activities, we are closing our reserves to visitors until further notice.

This means we will close car parks, toilets and other visitor facilities to the public. These measures are on top of the existing closure of our visitor centres, cafes and shops. It is…

These are difficult and unsettling times for all of us. We know that nature can be a powerful force for good in difficult circumstances. As many of you have told us, it can lift our spirits, educate us, inspire us, and provide a space for us to exercise and enjoy fresh air.

We’re trying our best to keep as many of our nature reserves open for as long as possible and we hope that visitors will continue to enjoy these…

Flows Lookout Tower - Maintenance

Please note that the Flows Lookout Tower will be closed to visitors from next Monday (2nd September) for approximately eight days to allow some maintenance work to be carried out. The first section of boardwalk and the flagstone trail around the pool system will remain open as usual to visitors.

Forsinain Trail - Forestry Operations

We are hoping to re-open the Forsinain Trail from Thursday…

** Safety Notice **

Visitors to our Forsinard Flows nature reserve in Sutherland should be aware that the Forsinain Trail will be CLOSED to all visitors from 4th July - 4th August 2019 to allow Forestry Operations to be completed.

We have managed to keep the trail open, with a diversion, up until now but the remaining forestry is immediately adjacent to the trail so for safety reasons we have decided to temporarily…

Although it has been a while since we have posted a blog we have been far from quiet at the Forsinard Flows nature reserve. Recently we have been tackling a major wildfire that started up on the north coast and over several days burned down into the top of the reserve. With a lot of hard work and the support of local keepers, fire officers, contractors and a helicopter we managed to contain the fire and now after a couple…

** SAFETY NOTICE **

Trail Diversion - Forsinain

Visitors should be aware that there is now a trail diversion in place on the 4 mile Forsinain Trail at the Forsinard Flows reserve. 

While the trail through the farm and along the river is the same as normal a diversion is in place once through the deer fence above the farm. The diversion shortens the route to 3 miles and follows the boundary fence of the Forsinain plantation…

With so many summer migrants starting to show up on the Forsinard Flows reserve in Caithness & Sutherland it seemed appropriate to also welcome our new interns for 2018! - Our interns will be helping with a whole host of surveys and scientific research as well as leading guided walks and helping with practical management and restoration tasks. From left to right we have; Fairlie, Alice, Shenaz and Harris. If you are…

Are you ready for a new conservation challenge in 2018? - Here are 4 opportunities to help conserve and enthuse others about the internationally important peatlands of the Flow Country and 4 reasons why you really should apply for them! 

We have FOUR conservation internship placements with the RSPB at Forsinard Flows, running from March to October 2018 that we are currently recruiting for, based in and working on the…

This is our latest blog by Stuart Benn, RSPB Communications and Conservation Project Officer based in Inverness.

There was a lovely wee film about the RSPB’s work in the Flow Country on the One Show recently – the drone footage was amongst the best I’ve seen to get across its wide, boggy expanses, normally so difficult to capture. (It's available for another 25 days to view HERE, if you are interested…

Visitors to Reserve: Road Closed Notice

Visitors to the reserve should be aware that the A897 will be closed from Midday Saturday 16th September to 8pm Sunday 17th September 2017 in order that works can be carried out at the rail crossing at Forsinard.

If you missed our short film on scoter conservation on the BBC ONE Show you can catch it on BBC iplayer for the next 29 Days. Our film starts towards the end of the episode from 24:36min onward.

Massive thanks to the BBC film crew who we worked with on this.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b092pksz/the-one-show-30082017

Exciting new opportunity at RSPB Forsinard Flows

RSPB Forsinard is the RSPB’s largest reserve...and we love to share the experience of this fascinating and vast peatland with as many visitors and volunteers as possible...but we have a problem...we are also fairly remote, just 15 miles south from the very top of the British mainland!

But never fear...we have an exciting solution... New for 2017, we are offering…

Exciting times at the Forsinard Visitor Centre!

The refurbishment of the visitor centre is almost complete with the vast majority of the exhibition now installed. Here are a couple of photographs of the our new look to whet your appetite!

The visitor centre is open 7 days a week at this time of year from 9am - 5pm with guided walks on a Monday and Tuesday; check out the reserve page for more details www.rspb.org…

Fantastic funding news from EOCA

I’m delighted to be able to bring you an exciting update on the public vote for European Outdoor Conservation Association funding we took part in earlier this year. As you may recall we asked for your support to help us secure funding from EOCA for our peatland restoration project and you did not disappoint, voting in for it in your thousands to result in the vote ending with us…

Now that the painter has just about finished with the visitor centre it will be open from 0900 - 1700 each day so that visitors can use the toilet facilities. Please be aware that there is no peatland display or interpretive material in the centre at this time as the whole centre is being refurbished at the same time as part of the Flow to the Future project. We have been advised that it will take most of April and…

Thank you for supporting our peatland restoration project

You may remember last month we asked for your support for our peatland restoration project which was in the running to receive funding from European Outdoor Conservation Association. A huge thank you to everyone who took a moment to vote for us! With the results now counted and verified our project finished in second place in the nature category.

Although this…

As part of the Peatland Partnership’s Flows to the Future project our visitor centre at Forsinard is being refurbished in April and May 2017.

A new peatland exhibition will explain how the blanket bog of the Flow Country formed, why it is so important and how the RSPB is restoring large areas of peatland that have been damaged through inappropriate forestry and agricultural practices.

There will also be a…

Our peatland restoration project needs your vote!

We’ve got some great news here at RSPB Scotland Forsinard Flows nature reserve; a project to restore part of the intricate blanket bog at the reserve is in the running to receive funding from the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA). The final decision is decided by a public vote on the EOCA website - whichever project has the most votes in each category…