The Culduthel Woods in Inverness are owned and managed by the Culduthel Woods Group on behalf of the local community.

CULDUTHEL WOODS PATH IMPROVEMENT PROJECT: We are working hard to improve the paths in the woods and to promote active travel and we have developed some new proposals that are set out below. 

Community Consultation: We organised an online survey over the summer 2024 and a special exercise with the schools to get as many views as possible - we had nearly 160 individual responses which was excellent. The vast majority of people who responded were in favour of the proposals. There was a strong emphasis on the need to improve access to the woods while protecting the natural and wild character of the area and also taking into account the privacy of the nearby homes. You can access the summary report at the link below. 

Planning application: We submitted a planning application to the Highland Council in October 2024 - you can see details at the link below (Planning Ref:  24/04228/FUL). The Inverness Courier had a very good summary of where we have got to, so far, on the 8 March 2025.  https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/beauty-spot-improvement-plan-objections-overstated-claims-376474/   We have not yet seen if the planners are recommending approval or not, but the planning decision is likely be taken by local Councillors.  In the meantime, you can find our statement  in response to the objections at the link here. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p7G5cZdvQMByvMQlK7H1phKBlCdR-Xez/view?usp=sharing 

Aims of the project: Back in 2021, when we asked people about the management of the woods, we had around 135 responses and over 210 individual comments. Over 85% of people said they wanted to improve the paths while keeping their woodland character. You can see that work summarised on our Management Plan page. The aim of this Path Improvement Project is to promote active travel and to improve access to and through the woods, between the surrounding residential areas and key local facilities, such as the Inverness Royal Academy and Culduthel Christian Centre. Through the construction of new and improved paths, important connections will be made to the wider active travel networks, helping people to walk, cycle and enjoy the local area. In summary, we plan to build a new path around the pond; to improve the surface of the paths near the main gates; and to improve entrances to the woods near the school and close to Culduthel House and the path between these two points.

The Planning Application (Ref:  24/04228/FUL) and all the supporting documents ( and the objections that have been received) are HERE.

The summary of our Community Consultation exercise is HERE. 

The Path improvement proposals that we consulted on are HERE

With thanks to Paths for All for supporting all this work and to Raeburn Farquhar Bowen, our specialist landcape architects, who have commissioned all the surveys and did the planning drawings.