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Wooded hills of Glen Nant under low cloud.
Argyll and Bute

Glen Nant National Forest

A secluded ancient rainforest of oak, birch and hazel south of Taynuilt, once coppiced to fire the Bonawe furnace.

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Welcome

Glen Nant is a secluded ancient rainforest of oak, birch and hazel in the hills south of Taynuilt, a National Nature Reserve where the air is soft and the rocks and branches are furred with lichens and mosses, many of them very rare.

Once you turn off the main road everything goes quiet, and there are two trails to choose from: an easy low-level walk by the burn, and a steeper route that climbs up through the glen to stunning mountain views.

The wood carries signs of an older life, if you know where to look. Two hundred years ago, when the Bonawe iron furnace at Taynuilt was working, the oaks here were coppiced for charcoal to fire it, and the old stumps with their many stems are still easy to spot. Higher up, cleared areas show where non-native conifers have been felled so the rainforest can spread back, almost doubling the native woodland. There is a picnic spot by the burn.

A little further outThe Oyster Inn, ConnelAn inn by the Falls of Lora at Connel, dating back to the 18th-century Ferryman's Inn, with a seafood restaurant, the Gluepot bar and rooms.15 min by roadSee itThe Oyster Inn, Connel
Before you go

Glen Nant is south of Taynuilt, with a picnic spot by the burn.

Two trails, one easy and one steeper.

Where
South of Taynuilt, PA35 1JG.
Trails
An easy burnside walk; a steeper climb to views.
Where it is

South of Taynuilt.

Close byNear Taynuilt.
  1. The shore at Airds Bay with Loch Etive and the hills beyond.Airds BayA quiet pebble bay on Loch Etive by Taynuilt, looking up the loch into roadless hills.4 miles7 min by road
  2. Loch EtiveLoch EtiveA seventeen-mile sea loch from Connel into the mountains, with a pier at its head once served by steamers.6 miles9 min by road
  3. The Pass of Brander from above: the road, the railway and the River Awe between steep green hills.Pass of BranderThe gorge below Ben Cruachan where the River Awe runs to Loch Etive, and where Bruce broke the MacDougalls in 1308.7 miles9 min by road
  4. Cruachan Visitor CentreCruachan Visitor Centre8 miles10 min by road
  5. Connel BridgeConnel BridgeThe steel cantilever of 1903 over the Falls of Lora at the mouth of Loch Etive, built for the railway and now carrying the road.11 miles16 min by road
Directions
Timber cabin with copper roof beside a loch, shaded by oak treesObanUisge BothySleeps 2 · 9.6 miles
Black timber-clad cabin with corrugated roof and stove flue, set among trees and long grassObanBeathaSleeps 2 · 9.6 miles
Oyster Inn, Argyll and ButeRestaurantsThe Oyster Inn, Connel10 miles
St Conan’s Kirk, Argyll and ButeAttractionsSt Conan’s Kirk11 miles
Couple share wine at a driftwood table overlooking a yacht-filled bayCafePoppies, Saulmore12 miles
Fairy lights drape a stone fireplace beneath the Wild Rowan Cafe signRestaurantsDalavich Shop and Wild Rowan Cafe12 miles
The timber-clad visitor centre and its welcome sign.AttractionsOcean Explorer Centre13 miles
AttractionsDunstaffnage Castle13 miles
The whitewashed front of Ben Lora Cafe & Bookshop in Benderloch under a grey sky.CafeBen Lora Cafe & Bookshop13 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near the forest, and when each is next free.

Timber cabin with copper roof beside a loch, shaded by oak treesUisge Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Oban
  • 6 miles from Glen Nant
Check datesBlack timber-clad cabin with corrugated roof and stove flue, set among trees and long grassBeatha
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Oban
  • 6 miles from Glen Nant
Check datesGlencruitten House, Argyll and ButeGlencruitten House
  • To stay
  • In Argyll and Bute
  • 9 miles from Glen Nant
Check datesSlochd, Argyll and ButeSlochd
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Argyll and Bute
  • 10 miles from Glen Nant
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in Argyll and ButeAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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