Pease Dean
Pease Dean reserve has two distinct arms: Pease Burn and Tower Burn. The area beside Pease Burn is an open valley with grassland, gorse, and alder. Upstream from where the two burns merge, the valleys become steeper and more wooded. Tower Burn has extensive areas of mixed woodland which supports attractive ground flora. Part of the reserve is SSSI designated for its native oak woodland, mosses and liverworts.
Loch Ardinning
The reserve contains a variety of wetland, woodland and grassland habitats. Notable communities include scarce aquatic plant communities, wet woodland and moorland. The northern part of the loch is densely populated with reeds, rushes and sedges, the luxuriant growth resulting from the sheltered, shallow conditions. To the south-west of the loch lies a wet wood, or carr, consisting of mature willows, birch and alder. The loch is also a haven for a variety of wintering and breeding wildfowl, the tufted duck being a notable inclusion.
Ballagan Glen
Ballagan Glen is a small but beautiful reserve carved by the Ballagan Burn, which cascades down a series of waterfall, including the Spout of Ballagan. It is most notable for its spectacular geological exposures, and is designated a SSSI for these features. Ash and wych elm occupy the lower glen floor, with a ground layer of ramsons and red campion. In all, over 200 species of wildflowers are found here. In the damp, dark environs of the waterfall and burn there is a luxurious growth of mosses.
Balgavies Loch
Balgavies Loch is one of a series of wetlands in the Upper Lunan Valley. Reedbeds fringe the loch and to the west there is extensive fen. These habitats support a diverse range of wildlife including large numbers of wintering geese and wildfowl.
Ballachuan Hazel Wood
Ballachuan Hazel Wood cloaks a low ridge overlooking Cuan Sound. It is a site of international importance for its lichen flora, with many species depending on the hazels. The wood has rich ground flora and is a good site for breeding birds and summer migrants.
Shewalton Wood
At 134ha, this is the largest of the 9 Irvine Greenspace reserves. It mainly consists of a central area of grass, marsh and bog habitat surrounded by linear strips of semi-mature conifer plantation. There is also a large block of mature downy birch woodland in association with two deep, clean ponds fringed with emergent plants. The Dundonald Burn and several deep ditches flow across the site. The combination of open grassland and woodland is perfect for birds of prey and other predators such as adders and foxes.
Stenhouse Wood
Stenhouse Wood is a 17ha mixed deciduous woodland, designated as an SSSI and SAC, of ash, wych elm and oak supporting a rich flora and fauna. Fallen deadwood and numerous boulders provide suitable habitat for an abundant growth of mosses. Relatively undisturbed, the wildlife has been allowed to thrive in this reserve.
Dumbarnie Links
Dumbarnie Links is a small area of lime-rich dune grassland, and part of a larger SSSI. The dunes form an important habitat for a number of rare species of plants and invertebrates, and the shore and grassland are home to many birds. This habitat is botanically rich, with cowslips in the spring, and purple milk-vetch, meadow crane
Handa Island
Magnificent sea cliffs, formed from horizontally stratified Torridonian sandstone, rise vertically from the Atlantic in the northwest of Handa Island. Each summer they come alive when nearly 200,000 seabirds, including kittiwakes, arctic skuas and puffins, gather to breed. Guillemots, razorbills and great skuas reach internationally important numbers on the island. When you arrive on Handa, you will be met by a Ranger, who will give a short introductory talk on Handa, and be available to answer questions.
Northside Wood
Northside Woods is a strip of woodland north of the Seafar area of Cumbernauld, made up of trees planted in the 1960s by the Cumbernauld Development Corporation and older shelter belts. A footpath runs along the length of the woodland.
