Beecraigs, like much of West Lothian’s woodlands, has taken a battering in the last 18 months of stormy weather.
Councillors on the Linlithgow Local Area Committee noted the surge in public inquiries about damaged trees at the end of the year.
And Eirwen Hopwood from the council’s NETs and Land Services team confirmed: “It’s been a challenging time for our trees.”
A report to the committee detailed woodlands work in the last three months of 2025. The council received 20 reports of damaged or dangerous trees in the Linlithgow area much of it from Beecraigs- compared to just two reports in the same period in 2024.
Councillor Pauline Orr said: “There’s been quite a considerable spike in the numbers. Is that down to Storm Eowyn last year with trees maybe damaged then but deteriorating over the year and coming down with Storm Amy in October?
“The area has suffered from a lot more adverse weather.”
Eirwen said: “Trees do suffer after storms. We used to talk about three years of rest. I don’t know when we last had three years of rest after a wind. It has become very much that we have three or four of storms in a year.
“We have had a lot more summer storms as well and the trees are in full leaf then, more like a giant sail and can cause more damage. It’s been challenging times for our trees.”
The report to committee added: “The harvesting of timber blown down during Storm Eowyn last year and subsequent gales has now been completed, and site restoration is under way. The income from this operation will be used to replant the felled areas and other tree and woodland work.
“Early October brought Storm Amy to West Lothian. Although only categorised as a yellow warning for high winds some of the parks and green spaces were impacted by windblown trees and branches down over paths and access points.
“Over two days the Ranger Service patrolled all footpaths and Mountain Bike (MTB) trails in the three Country Parks to report back on path networks impacted by storm damage. Other sites were patrolled over the following week to clear debris and report further tree damage to arborist team.”
Eirwen said that trees can be destabilised by storms, adding “we are heavily reliant on the public reporting damaged or dangerous trees. We do surveys after severe storms. We are lucky that people do take the time to contact us. We don’t mind getting multiple reports, we’d rather have that than none.
The clear up at Beecraigs following the 24 January Storm Eowyn last into the summer last year with an additional stormy weather in February adding to problems.
As the LDRS reported last summer more than 200 trees were brought down at Beecraigs. They were among thousands damaged across West Lothian.
By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter
