Greenspaces

Cumbernauld is an incredibly green place and most people live within ten minutes of the town’s reserves and parks. There is so much to explore, so why not start today?

 

Cumbernauld Glen Wildlife Reserve

, by Cumbernauld LL
Managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, the ancient woodland of Cumbernauld Glen is a haven for wildlife. Early spring sees pockets of snowdrops appearing and April brings a profusion of bluebells. The meadows attract butterflies, including small pearl-bordered fritillary. This historical site also has a 16th Century dovecote (doocot). There is an extensive network of footpaths to explore as well…

Luggiebank Wood Wildlife Reserve

, by Cumbernauld LL
Managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Luggiebank Wood has grassland, scrub and riverside woodland habitats. Alder and birch trees have allowed a rich and diverse ground flora to develop where wildflowers flourish. Kingfishers can be seen diving into the meandering Luggie Water and if you’re lucky you may even spot a badger foraging in the woodland.    Highlights Look out for dippers and otters while enjoying a peaceful riverside walk  Sit by the…

Forest Wood Wildlife Reserve

, by Cumbernauld LL
Forest Wood is on the southern edge of Cumbernauld. It consists mainly of plantation woodland, with small areas of lowland peat bog, heath and grassland. It is a haven for flowering plants, and the pond is home to damselflies and palmate newts. If you listen carefully you might hear the call of cuckoos in spring – an increasingly rare sound…

Seafar Wood Wildlife Reserve

, by Cumbernauld LL
Managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Seafar Wood is a relatively young strip of woodland west of Cumbernauld Village. The woodland habitat is still developing and clusters of bluebells and other woodland flowers are already established, it’s also popular with butterflies and damselflies in summer. Areas of scrub and remnants of agricultural hedgerows provide vital habitats for birds. Highlights Visit…

Mosswater Local Nature Reserve (LNR)

, by Laura Healy Smith
Mosswater Local Nature Reserve is owned and managed by North Lanarkshire Council and the best way to access the reserve is by foot from Hope Park Drive, north of Blackwood round-about. After several years of work to improve this site for wildlife and people, Mosswater has been designated a Local Nature Reserve (LNR). The young woodland and floodplain grassland to…

Ravenswood Local Nature Reserve (LNR)

, by Cumbernauld LL
Managed by North Lanarkshire Council, Ravenswood is a rich mosaic of open marsh, meadow, grassland, wildlife ponds and woodland. You can spot wildlife all year-round including insects, song birds, diving birds and mammals. There is an ‘outdoor classroom’ at the main entrance, created by our Nature Ninjas and Wild Ways Well participants.   Highlights Listen for the cry of buzzards…

Palacerigg Country Park

, by Laura Healy Smith
Set in the hills to the south-east of Cumbernauld, Palacerigg Country Park is owned by North Lanarkshire Council. Established in the early 1970s, Palacerigg has been developed around the objectives of conservation, environmental education and countryside recreation. More than 40 hectares of what was once a bleak upland farm have been planted with thousands of native trees and shrubs. This…

Glencryan Wood

, by Cumbernauld LL
Owned and managed by both North Lanarkshire Council as part of Palacerigg Country Park and the Scottish Wildlife Trust as part of Forest Wood Reserve, this mixed woodland features ancient trees alongside invasive Sitka spruce. The land has a mining history and is also the site of one of Cumbernauld’s lowland raised bog habitats, with a number of ponds ideal…

St Maurice’s Pond

, by Cumbernauld LL
Owned and managed by North Lanarkshire Council, this wetland pond with its surrounding meadows and woodland is a great place for wildlife watching. Today the pond and woodlands are a ‘Special Site of Interest for Nature Conservation’ but were once an old farm and quarry that supplied materials to the nearby weaver’s village of Condorrat. There is a circular walk…

Broadwood Loch

, by Cumbernauld LL
Owned and managed by North Lanarkshire Council, Broadwood Loch is a man-made loch with surrounding woodland, grassland and lowland peat bog habitats. The wildlife ponds are home to damselflies and dragonflies and swallows can be seen swooping overhead in summer. There is a circular walk round the loch. Highlights Listen for the drumming sound of great spotted woodpeckers as you…
 

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