Tayvallich
Tayvallich is a small village in Knapdale, situated at the head of Loch a'Bhealaich, a small inlet on the western shore of Loch Sween.
The village sits on an attractive horseshoe bay, surrounded by richly wooded shores. The Knapdale peninsula divides just beyond it. The western arm leads eventually to the medieval Chapel of Keills, with a display of late medieval carved stones, and from where there is also a fine view of the MacCormaig Islands, the largest of which, Eilean Mór, was previously a retreat of the 7th-century St Cormac, but is now a breeding ground for seabirds. The other arm, the Taynish peninsula, is a National Nature Reserve and has one of the largest remaining oak forests in Britain.
On the eastern shore of Loch Sween stand the impressive ruins of the 12th-century Castle Sween, probably the oldest stone castle on the Scottish mainland. Beyond it, Kilmory Woodland Park offers fine collections of witch hazels, alpines, hardy ferns, historical sites and lochside walks.
