Puck's Glen
A river-formed ravine with a scenic gorge trail in Argyll.
via Wikipedia: Puck's Glen · see source
Puck's Glen is a ravine carved by a stream on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll and Bute, western Scotland. A popular walking path follows the Eas Mòr stream, whose name means "big waterfall" in Gaelic. Managed by Forestry and Land Scotland as part of the Argyll Forest Park within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, the glen has been called "one of the most magical forests in Scotland, with a delightful trail along a rocky gorge." The stream descends through waterfalls and rapids, meeting the River Eachaig about 1.2 km south of the Benmore Botanic Garden entrance. Visitors can park off the A815 road, roughly 10 km from Dunoon toward Loch Eck, and take a track to the glen path's foot or use forest routes to reach the top.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Cowal, Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- River
- Eas Mòr burn
Facts from the source article.
History
The Benmore Estate, once used for hunting by the Campbells of Ballochyle, saw a series of owners make improvements during the 1800s. The first forestry plantations went in during the 1820s, and from 1862 James Piers Patrick carried out extensive work on the gardens. A map from the Ordnance Survey in 1865 shows the Eas Mòr gorge climbing uphill through a small patch of woodland and then into open moorland, with a few trees in the ravine itself. In 1870, James Duncan, a sugar refiner and philanthropist from Greenock, purchased the estate and also added the neighbouring Kilmun and Bernice estates to it. He organised the planting of over six million trees across the property and built paths up the Eas Mòr gorge so his guests could experience the glen’s enchanted feel, which reminded him of the mythological figure Puck from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A revised Ordnance Survey map from 1898 shows paths and bridges running up the gorge, with the conifer plantation of Uig Wood spreading on both sides. Henry Younger, from the Edinburgh brewing family, bought the estate in 1889, and together with his son Harry George Younger, he made further improvements to the woods and gardens. Around 1903, two strips of Japanese larch were planted at Puck’s Glen, and by 1912 they had become well established, even though European larch had not succeeded in the area. In 1918, the Anchor Line Staff Magazine noted that Benmore House was famous for “Puck's Glen with its amber stream cutting a channel through moss-draped schistose rock, and tumbling from one silver rock-chalice to another.” Harry George Younger gave the estates to the Forestry Commissioners in 1924. When the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society visited in July 1925, they described Puck’s Glen as a striking example of how people, working with nature, had turned what was once a bare hillside ravine into one of the most lovely walks imaginable. Starting near the sixth milestone from Dunoon on the old main road to Arrochar, the bridle-path followed the stream that the Ordnance Survey map calls Eas Mor but is better known as Puck’s Burn, and was soon enclosed by steep banks covered in many varieties of conifers, rhododendrons, and rare ferns. The path followed the stream through the whole ravine. To commemorate James Duncan’s improvements, Younger built the Bayley Balfour Memorial Hut above the glen, dedicated to botanist Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour. Sir Robert Lorimer designed the hut, which had wood panelling made from all the types of timber grown at Benmore, and it was placed above the treetops. The dedication ceremony took place in September 1928 in fine weather, and The Gardeners’ Chronicle reported that the site offered beautiful views above a gorge where the singing waters fall to the Eachaig River from lofty heights, surrounded by towering woods, with Beinn Mhòr visible through a faint blue haze. In 1929, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh opened the Younger Botanic Garden on the Benmore estate as its first outstation, and during the 1930s the Forestry Commission set up Kilmun Arboretum to the south of Puck’s Glen, planting large groups of tree species rather than individual specimens. The Forestry Commission’s Scottish National Forest Park Guide from 1947 called Puck’s Glen a rocky cleft beside a rushing stream that leads up to a fine viewpoint, and said it could be visited without charge or formality, with access by Clyde steamer and bus services. In 1948, the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal noted regular visits to the glen, finding it attractive at all seasons but best in June when the rhododendrons were in bloom, and praised the view from the Rest Hut, which was exquisitely designed by Robert Lorimer. The Bayley Balfour Memorial Hut, also called Puck’s Hut, was moved in 1968 to the walled garden in the Botanic Garden. It originally had a fireplace and chimney, but these were not rebuilt, and an extra window was put in instead. In 1992, the hut was listed as a Grade C listed building. The Puck’s Glen path needed repairs and was restored in May 1986, with new bridges put in. The area receives high rainfall, averaging around 200 to 230 centimetres each year, which suits temperate rainforest and its undergrowth. The acidic soil is especially good for conifers. The Forestry Commission has planted coniferous trees along the sides of Puck’s Glen, which runs through Uig Wood. The lower slopes of this woodland contain some of the earliest plantations on the estate. The wood is part of Benmore forest, which has waymarked trails that guide visitors past trees including giant Californian redwoods, Douglas fir, and Western hemlock. Puck’s Glen itself is part of the Puck’s Glen Gorge Trail, which starts from the car park, and the Black Gates Trail, which begins at the entrance to Benmore Botanic Garden.
Woodland trails
The high rainfall, with an average annual precipitation of around 200 to 230 cm, is suited to temperate rainforest and associated undergrowth. The acid soil makes the area particularly suitable for conifers. The Forestry Commission has planted coniferous trees at the sides of Puck's Glen, which runs through Uig Wood. The lower slopes of this woodland feature some of the earliest tree plantations on the estate. The wood forms part of Benmore forest, which features waymarked trails leading visitors among trees including giant Californian redwoods, Douglas fir and Western hemlock. Puck's Glen itself is part of the Puck's Glen Gorge Trail, leading from the car park, and the Black Gates Trail which starts at the entrance to Benmore Botanic Garden, and goes past extensive mature conifers on the hillside of Benmore forest before connecting to the top of the Upper Puck's Glen loop. A signpost at the forestry track crossing Puck's Glen points south along the track to Kilmun Arboretum and north along the track to Benmore Botanic Garden. It also points to the Upper Puck's Glen Loop path which continues further uphill beside the stream before connecting to the top of the Black Gates Trail. Some detailed routes are available online at Walkhighlands.
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