Ariundle Oakwood National Nature Reserve

Ariundle Oakwood (Scottish Gaelic: Àirigh Fhionndail, "the shieling of the white meadow") is situated to the north of the village of Strontian in the Sunart area of the Highlands of Scotland. It is located on the western side of the glen of the Strontian River, to the south of former lead mining sites that lie further up this glen. The wood is part of the ancient Sunart Oakwood, and is a remnant of ancient oakwoods that once spanned the Atlantic coasts of Europe from Norway to Portugal. It was designated as a National Nature Reserve in 1977, and is managed primarily by NatureScot, in conjunction with Forestry and Land Scotland, who own the land surrounding the National Nature Reserve. The reserve is classified as a Category IV protected area by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and also forms part of both a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation. NatureScot has provided two marked trails in the wood, both of which can be accessed from a car park near the entrance to the reserve. One path takes walkers through the woods on the north side of the reserve, visiting the site of a ruined croft and providing views up the glen to the hills beyond. The other trail visits the lower part of the woods, beside the river Strontian. The two routes can be combined to form a 5 km circular walk. Both marked trails utilise the main track through the nature reserve, which can also be used to visit the lead mines further up the glen, and forms the starting section of the most accessible route to Sgùrr Dhòmhnuill, a Corbett and the 17th highest relative peak in Britain and Ireland.