Argyll Forestry Services Ltd

01/07/2026

Interesting one for FLS yesterday…

The problem? A rotten Beech tree, with no top (and therefore no anchor point) due to storm damage, and 1 large limb overhanging the LV line and leaning towards a house.

The solution? More machinery, a savvy climber, and everyone working together in perfect harmony. We’ve been very impressed with this new MEWP since we bought it, and we needed every centimetre of its 21m reach on this job!

Thanks as always to the team, and our super-subby. (And SSE for the shutdown).

16/06/2026

16/06/2026

Horses for courses.

At AFS we love big machines, (who doesn’t!), but you don’t always need a sledge hammer to crack a nut. Somewhere as sensitive as Benmore Botanic Garden would’ve been ruined by heavy machinery, so we sourced a couple of very clever (and compact) machines from Field & Forest Machinery LTD . This setup is robust enough to work with the big logs but nimble and low-impact enough to tiptoe amongst the existing plant collection. The alpine tractor and forestry winch combo is hugely impressive in terms of power for its size, and the Alstor mini forwarder can carry 3 ton on the existing footpaths and barely leave a mark.

Shout-out to Tom A M Brown and the boys at field and forest who (yet again) sorted out this kit for us, be sure to go and see them at the highland show this week.

25/05/2026

Bank holiday Monday = business as usual.

Undertaking some preemptive tree removals for FLS in the glorious sunshine in Ardentinny.

Shutdown provided by SSE.
Clever aerial stuff provided by Mitch ‘Danger’ Leckie.
AFS boys doing the prep and tidy up.

💪

12/05/2026

Apologies for the lack of updates, it’s been an extremely busy spell!

We’re fortunate at AFS to be able to work in some nice locations, but we’ve been even more privileged than usual to have been able to spend the whole winter (rain or shine!) in Benmore Botanic Gardens. The job to remove 250 diseased Larch trees is ongoing, and has been some of the most technical and challenging tree work possible, as we pick our way round the incredibly sensitive and scientifically important plant collection.

We’re phasing out works in some areas as the gardens get busy with visitors, but we’ll be back at full steam in the autumn. In the meantime if you’re in the gardens and you hear saws, give the boys a wave 👋 (from a safe distance!)

This level of project simply isn’t possible without wonderful and conscientious staff, plus our merry band of subbies and helpers, plus some newly-acquired key bits of machinery, more about them later! The benmore staff also deserve a mention, as they run around in front of us shutting paths as we move around the place.

Back with further updates soon……..