Forests of Rothbury storm recovery update

Forests of Rothbury

On 26 November 2021, the north of England experienced significant northerly winds leading to storm damage which affected trees, buildings and other infrastructure. Storm Malik and Storm Corrie over weekend 29/30 January 2022 has led to more trees falling over and slowing down the recovery process.

Forestry England’s first priority in the aftermath of the storm was to help the rural communities cut off from power such as in Kielder Forest, where staff worked with other agencies including the power company, to clear fallen and unstable trees from power lines, access roads and main paths.

We are now planning and implementing the safe and prompt removal of windblown trees across our forests, including our trails. The safe removal of windblown trees is a complex operation, requiring planning, machinery and skilled operators.

Our teams are working as fast as they can, but in some areas the size and complexity of the damage and remote locations is going to take months to fix.

Storm damaged trees can be unstable and dangerous. We need to make trees safe, within two tree-lengths of all of our trails. Unfortunately this means some facilities remain closed.

Please find the latest information below. We are working on making the areas safe and accessible and will update this page as the situation progresses.