Loch Rannoch
Loch Rannoch in Perthshire is one of the finest and most scenically complete Highland lochs, a freshwater loch of approximately 19 kilometres in length set between the conifer forest plantations of Rannoch Forest to the north and the ancient Black Wood of Rannoch on the south shore, whose combination of the loch scenery, the wild Rannoch Moor visible at the western end and the ancient Caledonian pine remnants of the Black Wood creates one of the finest loch and forest landscapes in Highland Perthshire. The loch is the drainage basin for the extensive Rannoch Moor to the west.
The Black Wood of Rannoch on the south shore of the loch is one of the largest and finest surviving fragments of the ancient Caledonian pine forest that once covered much of the Scottish Highlands, the old Scots pines with their gnarled and spreading forms quite different from the straight plantation conifers across the loch creating a woodland of ancient and atmospheric character. The wood supports red squirrel, Scottish crossbill, crested tit and a range of ancient forest invertebrates and fungi associated with Caledonian pinewood habitats.
The driving and cycling circuit of Loch Rannoch provides one of the finest accessible loch landscape drives in Perthshire, the varying character of the loch shore from the oak and birch woodland of the eastern end to the more open shores of the western section creating considerable variety in a route of approximately 40 kilometres.