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The beaver loch walk at Barnluasgan in Knapdale
A walk · Tayvallich

Loch Barnluasgan – Beaver Country in Knapdale Forest

Barnluasgan car parkStartLoch BarnluasganWhere you turn

Families of beavers have spent years building lodges and dams on the forest lochs of Knapdale, and Loch Barnluasgan is the easiest place to see their work.

A smooth, level path circles the water in half an hour, with a hide on the bank to sit in and watch. It suits all ages, and the path is firm enough for a pushchair.

Time
About half an hour: Forestry and Land Scotland's Wildlife Trail round the loch, 1.5 km, easy. The Barnluasgan Oakwood Trail is 2.6 km and about an hour, strenuous. A stroll.
The path
The Wildlife Trail is smooth, firm and generally wide gravel, mostly flat with some short moderate slopes; the short path to the hide is slightly uneven. The Oakwood Trail has long flights of rough steps.
Where to start
Barnluasgan car park, off the B8025 south of Bellanoch: £1 for up to an hour, £3 for the day, by card or RingGo; free with a Blue Badge.
Set off
Dawn or dusk for the best chance of a beaver; bring a torch at dusk.
When to go
All year. Dawn or dusk for the best chance of a beaver; by day for their felled trees and lodge.
Dogs
Under close control, for the wildlife on the loch.
Children
An easy, level loop with a hide; open water beside the path, so watch small children.
Toilets
None on site; the nearest public toilets are at Tayvallich, 3 miles south, or Crinan, 3 miles north.
Before you set out
Trails may be closed or diverted at short notice for beaver flooding or fallen trees. Forestry work is under way in the wider forest.

The walk

Barnluasgan car park is about a mile south of the Crinan Canal at Bellanoch, off the B8025 at the start of the Achnamara road. Parking is £1 for up to an hour or £3 for the day, by card or RingGo, and free with a Blue Badge. Forestry and Land Scotland's Wildlife Trail goes right round Loch Barnluasgan: 1.5 km on smooth, firm, wide gravel, mostly flat, in about half an hour. Boards along the way tell you who lives here, and halfway round a short, slightly uneven path leads to a wildlife hide that looks across the water to the oakwood. Beavers have been building lodges and dams on these lochs for the last decade.

They're shy and come out mostly at dawn and dusk, so by day you're far more likely to find their work than the animals: felled trees, stripped branches and a well-hidden lodge. For the best chance of seeing one swim, sit quietly in the hide for the last hour of light, and bring a torch for the walk back to the car. If you'd like more of a walk, the Barnluasgan Oakwood Trail from the same car park is 2.6 km and about an hour, graded strenuous, with long flights of rough steps. Beavers flood paths and bring down trees, so a trail may be closed or diverted at short notice. There's an unstaffed information centre at the car park, and the Argyll Beaver Centre beside the loch posts its opening days on its own website and runs guided walks.

There are no toilets or cafés here. The nearest are at Tayvallich, three miles south, or Crinan, three miles north. Watch small children by the water, and keep dogs under close control.

If it rains

The loch path is smooth, firm and short, so it goes in rain with a waterproof, and the hide gives you a roof halfway round. Leave the Oakwood Trail's rough steps for a dry day.

Before you go

  1. Book accommodation nearby

    If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.

    The Hollies16 miles awayThe HolliesSleeps 18Glenstriven House20 miles awayGlenstriven HouseA place to stayFern CottageCrogganFern CottageSleeps 4Glencruitten House25 miles awayGlencruitten HouseA place to stay
Find out more

For further reading, before you go.

Photograph by Joanna Gilpin via Google