On Easter Monday BondWoman and myself were out on the West Coast, Pat The Chooks territory, with some time to spend in the morning before visiting some friends and setting off back to Auld Reekie. We decided that lunch would be taken at one of our favourite places the Tayvallich Inn, as it was when we travelled out on Good Friday. This would be our second visit over the weekend, as the reason for going there on Good Friday was so that BW could indulge in her passion for their mussels which, much to her chagrin, were not available; hence the decision to return there on Easter Monday, BW was determined to get her mussels!
This still left us with some time to kill before lunch; so we decided to go a bit beyond the Tayvallich Inn and explore the Taynish Peninsula, as we had never been down there before, and it had appealed to us for quite some time.
I have to confess that it is a really beautiful place indeed with a wonderful, but quite short (only 5km, 3 miles), woodland walk which we extended a little by heading right down to the very tip of the peninsula. As for a description of the walk I will leave that to the text scanned from the Scottish Natural Heritage leaflet “Oakwoods on a hidden peninsula” which says it all; the larger photographs are mine and the smaller ones from the SNH leaflet.
More than Trees
The peninsula of Taynish has shoreline, grassland, scrub, bog, heath and woodland, each of which is home to a host of plants, insects, birds and mammals that thrive here. You’ll see some of them easily - but a few seldom, if at all! Otters live on the reserve, building their holts (resting places) in banks among the trees, sometimes using a badger’s den. You may see them in the water, fishing and tumbling with great skill. You might also glimpse a shy roe deer in the woods.
Masses of mosses, lots of lichens
Taynish’s clean, humid air attracts many types of fern as well as the mosses, liverworts and lichens that often go unnoticed. Their variety and abundance add to the reserve’s importance.
Look for patches of filmy fern growing on trees and rocks - it’s almost transparent. You’ll see clumps of mosses everywhere, with names like mouse-tail, tamarisk, feather, fork and forest star.
The most obvious lichens growing on the oak trees are old man’s beard - which is easy to recognise - and lungwort.
Palette of the seasons
In winter, old man’s beard turns the woodland grey-green while holly berries provide spots of colour. The leafless birches add a purplish tinge to many shades of brown. Spring brings white wood anemones, the unforgettable haze of bluebells and yellow primroses. In summer, you’ll be dazzled by dragonflies and enchanted by up to 20 kinds of butterflies, including the threatened marsh fritillary. Lots of other insects feed on the plants and dead wood. Autumn is vibrant with the ochres, russets, reds and browns of oak, birch, willow, hazel and alder. and migrant willow warblers, and the woodlands are alive with song. Tree pipits dart from perch to perch, tiny goldcrests hang upside down from leaves, and treecreepers spiral up trunks in search of insects. Tawny owls prefer to hunt - and hoot - from dusk onwards.
Birds in song and silence
Bird spotting is easy here! Some birds are resident, such as the soaring, mewing buzzard and the natty-plumaged great spotted woodpecker, but redstart and wood warbler arrive in spring, singing lustily in search of mates. By May, there are lots of resident wrens and migrant willow warblers, and the woodlands are alive with song.
Tree pipits dart from perch to perch, tiny goldcrests hang upside down from leaves, and treecreepers spiral up trunks in search of insects. Tawny owls prefer to hunt - and hoot - from dusk onwards.
Helping nature do the work
Eleven thousand years ago. Ice Age glaciers scoured out Loch Sween (named after Dubhghall mac Suibhne, a Lord of Kintyre) and Linne Mhuirich. Birch, juniper, hazel and willow colonised the land after the ice melted, followed by alder, holly and oak. However, the woodlands are now called ’semi-natural’ because they were managed, in various ways, through the ages.
To help the woods keep their near-natural character and rich wildlife, SNH is encouraging the spread of native trees by controlling deer, which browse on young trees. We’re also removing rhododendron, which crowds out other plants. Cattle still graze here as they have since the Iron Age, keeping meadows rich with flowers and butterflies.
A tale of settlers
People settled here about 5000 years ago and used the trees for shelter, furnishings, firewood and stockades around their homes. There was probably a fort on the Barr Mor and Dun Mhuirich stands nearby. Later, Iron Age people built platforms in the woods and erected their round huts on them. Archaeologists know this from the remains of timber post-holes they’ve found. The charcoal burners of more recent times simply re-used the old platforms.
A tale of charcoal burners
Industrial iron-smelting needed charcoal to create the necessary heat. This led to great numbers of charcoal burners working in oak woodlands. There were two iron furnaces in Argyll (at Bonawe and Furnace) and even remote woods were put to use. The Taynish ones were busy throughout the 19th century. The burners stacked timber on the Iron Age platforms, covered the timber with turf and set it alight. After 24 hours, the charcoal was ready for transporting to the furnaces.
A tale of woodmen
Oak bark is rich in tannin, which was used to make leather from animal hides. During the 18th century, wars
and a growing population increased the demand for leather and oak trees were felled for their bark. Landowners, like Duncan Campbell of Taynish, managed their woodlands carefully - and arrested locals for stealing their timber! The stumps of trees felled in spring were protected from grazing animals and allowed to produce new shoots for harvesting 20 years later. You can still see evidence of this ‘coppicing’.
A tale of farmers
Around 5000 years ago, the first settlers kept animals and sowed crops at Taynish. They cleared trees from the south end of the peninsula and Barr Mor’s summit. Oxen, pigs and sheep grazed in the woodland, changing its character over the centuries.
Early people grew emmer wheat and small spelt, the forerunner of modern wheat, and later farmers grazed black cattle. Climb to the top of the Barr Mor and picture the days when Taynish was isolated except from the sea. How much has changed?
A tale of millers
From 1724 until the 1880s, Taynish Mill ground the grain from Taynish estate. When Peter and Archibald Brown became tenants in 1803, they agreed to bring all their corn and bere (a kind of barley) to Duntaynish Mill. Water powered the mill - currently being restored - with its huge kiln for drying the grain.
A tale of boatmen
Until recently, Argyll’s coastal communities depended on sea transport, often the ‘puffer’ of Para Handy fame. Charcoal and bark left by water. Boats would have brought materials to build Taynish House for MacNeill of Ross in 1650 and, when Campbell of Inverneill built his piggery nearby in the 18th century, the pigs would have sailed here too.
Sit down by the Mill Shore, scan Loch Sween and imagine the lapping of water on hulls and the swish of oars - or come by boat yourself next time!
Walking the woodlands
Visit the reserve at any time but wear strong, waterproof footwear and clothing. Explore the woodlands by following the 5km (3 mile) circular route shown on the map or take the easy wheelchair-accessible route to the Mill. If you’re energetic, follow the trail up the Barr Mor.
The mill building is being stabilised so please don’t go in, for your own safety. Taynish house and Duntaynish and their policies are privately owned and not accessible to visitors. Enjoy the rest of Taynish as the hidden peninsula that you discovered!
Where is it?
A woodland view
Farmland on the peninsula
