Our specialist top roping contractors have completed giant hogweed control for the 2026 season, scaling cliffs across the project area to reach our most difficult-to-access sites
Throughout April and early May our specialist contractors, Blokes on Ropes, visited sites across the project area to tackle giant hogweed infestations on cliffs and steep slopes which cannot be accessed safely by our project team.
This year the majority of the work took place in Angus, with almost a week spent controlling infestations on cliffsides on the Esk Rivers. The team controlled two sites on the North Esk and four sites on the South Esk, a considerable amount of work that took over four days in total. We are now almost in touching distance of the sea on the River North Esk, with this work allowing us to extend our control area down to Kinnaber. The North Sea is in sight!
The team also spent a day each on the River Findhorn and the River Deveron. The site on the Findhorn, a little downstream of Logie, is much improved after several years of treatment. The seedbank has been depleted and only a few small plants are cropping up each year. However, it is still important to carry out annual control on the cliffs to prevent plants from flowering and setting seed.
On the River Deveron, control work was required at two sites – Muirden Farm quarry near Turriff and Douglasbrae Knackery in Keith. The treatment at Keith has been very successful over the past two years and the site is now much improved. The Muirden Farm site was first discovered in 2024 and was partially treated in 2025 – but the infestation proved to be worse than anticipated and could not be fully controlled at the time. Earlier this year, before giant hogweed season began, Blokes on Ropes cleared access routes through gorse and broom on the cliffs of the quarry, which allowed us to treat the entire site for the first time.
In Perthshire, the top roping team controlled an infestation near Stanley on the River Tay. This was our second year working on these cliffs and only an afternoon was needed to treat the minor infestation. While the work only took a few hours, this site is critical for our overall progress in the Tay catchment.
Since 2018, we have been working to control giant hogweed on the River Tay from the upstream source, near the village of Dull, down to Stanley. This includes infestations on the main stem of the Tay and a minor infestation around Alyth village (Isla tributary). In 2023 work began on the River Almond and this tributary is now fully under management down to the confluence with the Tay. However, we cannot progress control work any further downstream without treating the infestation on Stanley cliffs.
We were very pleased to have a visit from the Courier to see the top roping work taking place on the cliffs at Stanley. You can read more about this and see some impressive drone photos in their article.
As always, we’d like to say a massive thank you to the Blokes on Ropes team for all their hard work on these challenging and critical sites.
