Templeton Woods

There are a surprising number of permanent residents in the woods, who you may be lucky enough to spot.

These include roe deer that graze the forest and are most easily spotted at dawn and dusk. Buzzards nest in the woods and can often be heard calling to their mates as they soar above the tree tops.

Jays are the beautifully coloured members of the crow family, whose harsh screech can often be heard in the car park. Keep your eyes peeled though, as they are very secretive birds.

Red squirrels are found throughout the wood, making Dundee one of the few cities in Britain to be a home to these cute tree-dwelling mammals. They can be seen scampering around and jumping through the trees in search of food.

Trees are important, valuable and necessary to our very existence.

All life on earth depends on them because they do so many great jobs. For example, trees produce oxygen, improve the soil, clean the air, fight soil erosion and slow storm water run-off. A mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year!

Templeton Woods welcomes visitors to walk, cycle, run, orienteer and horse ride on the many tracks and trails through the woodland.

The woods were initially planted in the 1800s by David Taylor, the head forester to the 1st Earl of Camperdown.

The woods originally covered more than twice the area they do today; they stretched east across Downfield Golf Course and Ardler, to what is now MacApline Road.

These days, Templeton covers over 150 acres (a football pitch is roughly 2 acres) and is used by a wide range of people and organisations throughout the city for recreation, volunteering opportunities, training for employment and nature conservation. It is a working woodland managed by the Forestry Section.

Countryside Rangers organise volunteer sessions and support community wildlife events. Please get in touch to find out more.

Download the Templeton Woods leaflet (1.3MB PDF)

Templeton Woods has been awarded a Green Flag for a number of years now. This is a nationally recognised award for maintaining a local greenspace to a high standard. It has been independently judged to be a welcoming, safe and secure, well maintained and managed area.

Countryside Ranger Service

In addition to our planned programme of events, Countryside Rangers provide a number of other services.

• Evening talks and guided walks for groups
• Education services
• Work in the community

Other woodland sites to visit; Balgay Hill, Dundee Law, Caird Park, Reres Hill, Camperdown Country Park and Middleton Wood.

The woods need help to be looked after, and your opinions and skills can help us improve the woods for people and wildlife.

If you are interested in getting involved in any way, please let us know.