Camilty Wind Farm - Partnerships for Renewables

Camilty Wind Farm
Viewpoint 11. Harperrig Reservoir
9.3.87 This is an open mid-distance view approximately (5 km) looking west from the Old Drove
Road right of way beside Harperrig Reservoir. Grazing land divided by post and rail fences
and stone walls surrounds the reservoir and extends throughout the foreground. Properties at
Harperrig and Baad Park nestle within clumps of deciduous and coniferous trees on the
shores of the water body. Together with blocks of coniferous woodland, these features
combine to form an attractive scene within the Pentland Hills Regional Park. Larger scale
forests of commercial conifers are visible beyond, forming dark bands within the landscape,
out of which rise the turbines of Pates Hill Wind Farm.
9.3.88 Lighting at properties on the edge of the reservoir would form the most prominent features at
night. Aviation warning lights on turbines at Pates Hill Wind Farm would be visible in the
distance.
Viewpoint 12. West Cairn Hill – Pentland Hills
9.3.89 This is an open, mid-distance, elevated view approximately (4.5 km) looking west from the
peak within the Pentland Hills on the Cauldstone Slap footpath. The moorland and grassland
habitat of this upland location falls away steeply in the foreground, continuing across the
undulating base of the hills to the A70. The smooth profiles and open nature of the hills
combined with the muted colours and gradual transitions in tone of the vegetation create a
unified landscape. By contrast the dark, geometric blocks and strips of commercial forestry
plantation form a mosaic of shapes which extend from the West Cairns Plantation to the site
a Camilty and beyond to Harburnhead Hill, Pearie Law and Woodmuir Plantation. These
plantations form the dominant land use in the middle distance. The cluster of properties and
belts of vegetation at Colzium are prominent in the foreground at the base of West Cairn Hill.
The large silvery water bodies at Crosswood Reservoir and Cobbinshaw Reservoir are also
prominent land marks, contrasting with the surrounding dark masses of conifer plantations. In
the distance to the left of the view, the landscape is predominantly rural, comprising grazing
land within a network of minor roads linking small settlements and blocks of forestry. In the
distance to the right and in the centre of the view the landscape is more heavily subdivided
by small woodland blocks and field systems with a more extensive network of roads, villages
and the fringes of the more extensive settlement of Livingston. In the far distance, the
outlines of peaks within the Ochil Hills, and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
are visible in very clear conditions. Wind farms at Muirhall, Pates Hill and Black Law form
recognisable features in the middle distance.
9.3.90 Extensive lighting associated with the many settlements and roads within the valley
landscape of the middle distance would form the most prominent sources of nighttime lighting
within the view. Red warning lights on the turbines at Pates Hill and Black Law Wind Farms
would also be visible at night.
Viewpoint 13. Craigengar
9.3.91 This is a mid-distance open view approximately (5 km) looking north west from the
Craigengar peak on the ridge of the Pentland Hills. The smooth textures and uniform colours
of the exposed moorland covers the steeply sloping hillside as it descends to the valley
below. Dark blocks and strips of conifer plantation are located near the edge of the Regional
Park and signal a change in land use and landscape character. Post and wire fences in the
foreground are a reminder that this is a managed landscape. A complex mosaic of forestry
plantation, mature field boundaries, farmlands and settlements stretch into the distance
March 2013 9-40 ES Chapter 9
Landscape and Visual
Copyright Partnerships for Renewables Development Co. Ltd 2013 ©