Kilmagadwood

Overview

Kilmagadwood (known to locals as The Cuckoo Wood) covers a small area of hill ground near to Loch Leven in the small county of Kinross-shire.

The wood is managed by the Woodland Trust Scotland and the local community. A public right of way runs through the wood, and the mixture of woodland and open ground offers superb views across the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh. Cart tracks criss-cross the woodland and are a reminder of the time when quarrymen brought limestone down from the hills, a practice which continued until the late 19th century. Kilmagadwood is important in providing additional habitats in an area of largely open hill ground and provides good shelter for a range of smaller mammals, birds and invertebrates as well as foxes and extensive rabbit populations. Roe deer from adjacent forestry plantations browse in the woodland and birds such as kestrel, skylark and green woodpecker are often seen.

Kilmagadwood and Portmoak Moss (another woodland nearby) are linked by the circular Tetley Trail (3 miles/5km) which also connects the villages of Scotlandwell and Kinnesswood.
Walkers climbing to the summit of Bishop Hill from a start point at Scotlandwell walk through the wood before reaching a kissing gate which gives access to the open hillside.

Unofficial off road parking is possible on the opposite side of the road (near to the footpath entrance) in the church car park at Scotlandwell.

Photos courtesy of Woodland Trust Picture Library, Andrew Fairbairn.