Old Wood of Drum

Also within

Aberdeenshire County

Condition (NatureScot)

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Bracken scrub

Description

Old Wood of Drum The Old Wood of Drum is located 15km west of Aberdeen, between Drum Castle and the Mony Burn. It is an ancient wood, with a documented history dating back to the 13th century, and one of the largest of oak woods in Aberdeenshire. The wood lies on the well-drained morainic soils of the lower Dee valley, and is dominated by oaks, mainly pedunculate oak Quercus robur, and downy birch Betula pubescens, with some Scots pine Pinus sylvestris. A variety of other trees and shrubs are found, including rowan Sorbus aucuparia, wych elm Ulmus glabra, gean Prunus avium, holly Ilex aquifolium and hazel Corylus avellana. The field layer is generally dominated by creeping soft-grass Holcus mollis and bracken Pteridium aquilinum, with wood anemone Anemone nemorosa and wood sorrel. The locally rare wood millet Milium effusum is also found. The soils are wetter by the Mony Burn where alder Alnus glutinosa is locally abundant and soft rush Juncus effusus, meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria and water avens Geum rivale are found.

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.

Plant communities