Kippenrait Glen

Also within

Stirling and Falkirk County

Condition (NatureScot)

Description

KIPPENRAIT GLEN Kippenrait Glen SSSI is comprised of the wooded banks of the Wharry burn, the Cock’s Burn and the Allan Water and lies between the settlements of Bridge of Allan and Dunblane to the north of Stirling. This large woodland SSSI consists mainly of base-rich, mixed valley woodland of ancient/long-established origin. Wet upland ash woodlands are uncommon in the Stirling Council area and this site is the largest woodland of its type in the area. The wood is relatively undisturbed and has an extremely high diversity of woodland plant species. The woodland canopy is dominated by ash, with birch, oak and elm, and an understorey of hazel and frequent bird cherry Prunus padus on moist soils. The ground flora is typically a mosaic, with abundant dog’s mercury Mercurialis perennis, bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta, greater woodrush Luzula sylvatica and wood anemone Anemone nemorosa, as well as sanicle Sanicula europaea, enchanter’s nightshade Circaea lutentiana and ramsons Allium ursinum by the riversides. Elsewhere, on the less base-rich slopes the canopy is dominated by birch with a localised understorey of hazel. The ground flora is dominated by grasses and ferns such as creeping soft-grass Holcus mollis and buckler-fern Dryopteris dilatata. In wetter flushed areas there are patches of alder woodland with frequent grey willow Salix cinerea and goat willow Salix caprea. On sloping ground where there is pronounced water movement, carpets of opposite-leaved golden saxifrage Chrysosplenium oppositifolium and bugle Ajuga reptans are common. Kippenrait Glen also contains a number of woodland plant species which are rare or uncommon locally, including bird’s nest orchid Neottia nidus-avis, goldilocks buttercup Ranunculus auricomus, moschatel Adoxa moschatellina and wood vetch Vicia sylvatica. Kippenrait Glen also SSSI supports a significant assemblage of insects, in particular beetles and craneflies. An extensive list of beetle species has been recorded, including four Red Data Book (rare) beetles, Pityophthorus lichtensteini, Sphaerites glabratus, Bledius erraticus and Melolontha hippocastani. The site also supports the cranefly Lipsothrix ecucullata, a UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species. In the British Isles, this cranefly has only been recorded in Scotland.

Species mentioned

Insects to look out for

These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.