Dalavich is a village in Argyll and Bute

Argyll and Bute

Argyll and Bute is both one of 32 unitary council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead.Argyll and Bute covers the second largest administrative area of any Scottish council...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It lies on the western bank of Loch Awe

Loch Awe

Loch Awe is a large body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It has also given its name to a village on its banks, variously known as Loch Awe, or Lochawe. There are islands within the loch such as Innis Chonnell and Inishail.- The loch :It is the third largest freshwater loch in Scotland with...

 and has a population of around 70.
(It is located 30 miles from the main town and port of Oban

Oban

Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...

, connected by the villages of Kilchreanan and Taynuilt)

"Dalavich" is Gaelic in origin and means "meadows/valley of the River Avich". The village was established by the Forestry Commission

Forestry Commission

The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....

 in 1952 to facilitate timber operations in the surrounding Inverliever forest.This was labour-intensive and horses were used to extract timber from the forest - it is possible to get a glimpse of this history by visiting the "old stables" which contain material from this epoch. Nowadays, a number of villagers still earn their living directly from forestry.

Inverliever forest was acquired by HM Officer of Woods in 1907 and was one of the original "State Forests". In September 1919, the Forestry Act came into force, setting up the Forestry Commission and giving it responsibility for woods in England, Scotland and Wales. The basis of forestry policy in the 1920s was the need to rebuild and maintain a strategic timber reserve. As the surrounding area could not supply adequate labour, the forestry village at Dalavich was established. In 1971, Inverinan forest was added to Inverliever.

There are forest walks and cycle routes maintained by the Forestry Commission nearby, and houses or cabins are available for tourists. Popular forest walks include the Dalavich Oakwood Trail (where red squirrel

Red Squirrel

The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Eurasia...

, pine marten

Pine Marten

The European Pine Marten , known most commonly as the pine marten in Anglophone Europe, and less commonly also known as Pineten, baum marten, or sweet marten, is an animal native to Northern Europe belonging to the mustelid family, which also includes mink, otter, badger, wolverine and weasel. It...

, woodpeckers and many other woodland inhabitants may be seen), and the Avich Falls; there are many more nature trails, e.g. to Otter Point.

There is a church

Dalavich Church

thumb|right|350px|Dalavich Church in ArgyllDalavich Church is a kirk in the settlement of Dalavich in the Lorne district of Argyll in Scotland, belonging to the Church of Scotland...

, a small shop and cafe with a part-time Post Office. There is also a social club as part of the community centre, the village also hosted a primary school but this was closed in 1997 due to an insufficient number of pupils. In 1997 there was only 1 pupil.

There is boat hire and fishing permits can be bought locally. Some of the largest trout caught in Europe have come from Loch Awe.

Dalavich Oakwood

Dalavich Oakwood is a Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

(SSSI) due to its significance as few remaining examples of upland oak woodland along the slopes of Loch Awe.

External links

• Dalavich Oakwood Trail
• Avich Falls Walk
• Dalavich Web Site * http://www.dalavich.biz/
• Dalavich Blog http://dalavich.blogspot.com/