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Special Areas of Conservation

Taynish and Knapdale Woods

Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Country Scotland
Unitary Authority Highlands and Islands
Centroid* NR785887
Latitude 56.0403
Longitude -5.5569
SAC EU Code UK0012682
Status Designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Area (ha) 1017.96
* This is the approximate central point of the SAC. In the case of large, linear or composite sites, this may not represent the location where a feature occurs within the SAC.
Location of Taynish and Knapdale Woods SAC

General site character

  • Inland water bodies (Standing water, Running water) (16%)
  • Bogs, Marshes, Water fringed vegetation, Fens (5%)
  • Heath, Scrub, Maquis and Garrigue, Phygrana (5%)
  • Improved grassland (5%)
  • Broad-leaved deciduous woodland (44%)
  • Coniferous woodland (20%)
  • Other land (including Towns, Villages, Roads, Waste places, Mines, Industrial sites) (5%)

Download the Standard Data Form for this site (PDF <100kb)

Note When undertaking an appropriate assessment of impacts at a site, all features of European importance (both primary and non-primary) need to be considered.

Annex I habitats that are a primary reason for selection of this site

  • 91A0 Old sessile oak woods with Ilex and Blechnum in the British Isles

    This continuous block of woodland on the west coast of Scotland is representative of old sessile oak woods in the rich south-west Highlands bryophyte zone. The site is notable for its outstanding lichen and bryophyte communities, which include species with a predominantly southern distribution, such as the rare Physcia clementei. In the less acidic areas a rich ground flora occurs, including narrow-leaved helleborine Cephalanthera longifolia. There are also transitions to open bog-filled hollows with the Annex II species 1065 Marsh fritillary Euphydryas aurinia and several small mesotrophic lochs.

Annex I habitats present as a qualifying feature, but not a primary reason for selection of this site

Annex II species that are a primary reason for selection of this site

  • 1065 Marsh fritillary butterfly Euphydryas (Eurodryas, Hypodryas) aurinia

    A large population at Taynish and Knapdale in western Scotland represents marsh fritillary Euphydryas aurinia in the northern part of its UK range. The population is most likely part of the same metapopulation present at Tayvallich Juniper and Coast, and is of the Scottish form E. aurinia scotica, which is completely isolated from populations in England and Wales.

Annex II species present as a qualifying feature, but not a primary reason for site selection

Many designated sites are on private land: the listing of a site in these pages does not imply any right of public access.