Regional Park Aim: "to encourage and enable learning,
understanding and enjoyment of Clyde Muirshiel Park"

UNDERSTANDING OUR COUNTRYSIDE

The Countryside Ranger Service have 5 principal aims:

1. To conserve and enhance the natural beauty, biodiversity and cultural heritage of Clyde Muirshiel Park.
2. Ensure mediation between public and other rural land users.
3. To promote an awareness and understanding of natural heritage.
4. To care for and enhance the natural heritage enjoyed by visitors.
5. Management of the Ranger Service.

Rangers have a wealth of knowledge about responsible access and our history and heritage. The natural environment provides resources for many school & educational visits. Rangers also host a wide range of events from guided walks & festivals to green wood working demonstrations and family friendly activities such as minibug hunts and pond dipping. The Rangers based at Muirshiel Visitor Centre are part of the Clyde Muirshiel Hen Harrier CCTV viewing partnership project. The Countryside Team are involved in various research projects, mapping and recording systems. The work of the Ranger Service is supported by Scottish Natural Heritage.
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ACCESS
The Regional Park provides a great escape to the countryside for healthy family fun or outdoor activities. As a countryside user please make sure you follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code while you enjoy the outdoors. If you have any questions please contact us or speak to a Ranger when you are next visiting.

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HISTORY & HERITAGE
The following fact sheets are available. If you would like information on something not listed, please contact us, if we can’t provide it we are likely to know someone who can!

1. Birds
2. Insects
3. Geology
4. Archaeology
5. Greenock Cut
6. Aircraft Crashes
7. Cornalees Land Use
8. Castle Semple Estate
9. Muirshiel House and Shooting Estate
10. A General Overview of the Regional park
11. Water Quality Castle Semple Loch

Downloads (pdf)
Aircraft Crashes in CMRP (407kb)
Castle Semple Loch History & Hydrology (560kb)
Muirshiel House & Shooting Estate (466kb)
Muirshiel Mine (409kb)

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SCHOOLS
A wide range of environmental activities to meet the needs of children and teachers both at school and in the field are provided by the Clyde Muirshiel Ranger Service.
Each area (Muirshiel, Castle Semple, Cornalees, Lunderston, North Ayrshire) of the Regional Park offers unique interpretative opportunities for a hands on experience of the countryside.

Educational topics can include for example mini-beasts of the shore, ponds and woods, land use, local history, archaeology, geology, environmental conservation and recreation, map skills, orienteering and hill safety.

Specific projects can be created to cover pre-school, 5-14 curriculum, secondary and further education projects for both social inclusion and mainstream pupils through discussion

The Outdoor Activities team based at Castle Semple provide group taster sessions in a range of water sports and land based activities.

Contact Us to discuss your requirements


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EVENTS
All the events and activities organised by the Ranger Service aim to ensure participants have a fun and informative experience in the natural environment that will contribute to your understanding of the countryside.

Events, such as guided or health walks & festivals, Green woodworking, family fun days and school holiday activities take place throughout the year. Please look on our what’s on pages for the latest information.

The Rangers contribute a lot of time to the Hen Harrier CCTV project at Muirshiel.


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RESEARCH PROJECTS
Projects include heather survey work for the Hill Plan model, which aims to reduce overgrazing. Our work with Macaulay Land Use Research Institute (MLURI) will assist in the calibration and validation of the Hill Plan model.

Research using remote sensing to quantify distinct areas of heather moor for the development of management prescriptions is being undertaken by a Alasdair MacArthur as part of his Phd.

A Master of Philosophy was awarded to Alan Brown, Countryside Officer for Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, for his thesis ‘Aspects of the management of a freshwater ecosystem’ by the University of Paisley, 2005. The thesis looked at water quality, primarily for recreational activities at Castle Semple Loch.

Other research:

• Wilson-Parr R.A. 2005. CCTV Analysis of Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) breeding ecology; prey diversity, the effects of weather and the implications for provisioning and yield. M.Res. Ecology and Environmental Biology, Glasgow University.
• McLean J.P. 2004. Water Quality in the Castle Semple Loch Catchment. Final year dissertation. Glasgow University.
• Hollerandse F.A.P. 2004 Evaluation of the Causes of Sediment Deposits and Flooding in Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, Scotland. Faculty of Engineering, University of Glasgow. MSc Water Resources Engineering Management.