Moss Wood (Shalunt Wood)

You'll find yourself walking into proper old-growth woodland here, where the trees are thick enough that you forget the coast is only a few miles away. Moss Wood - also called Shalunt Wood locally - is the kind of place where the forest floor squelches under your feet and moss covers everything from fallen logs to the lower branches. It's a genuine bit of Argyll woodland, not a manicured country estate trail.

The walk itself is straightforward enough. There are paths threading through, though nothing signposted with fancy wayfinding. Most people spend an hour or two wandering in, spotting the birds and listening to the quiet. It's the sort of place where kids will either love scrambling over deadfall and building dens, or get bored fairly quickly if they're expecting something with amenities.

Historically it's been working woodland for centuries - you can tell from the way it's managed, though these days it's just left to be itself. Free access, as far as anyone can work out. Best visited when it's been dry enough that you're not sinking to your ankles, which rules out a fair chunk of the Scottish year if you're fussy.

If you're based at Beach House Pods near Dunoon, this is a decent morning sortie before heading to some of the bigger Argyll attractions. It's not going to knock your socks off, but it's exactly what a forest walk should be - quiet, cool, and genuinely wild.