Glengarriff Forest, Nature reserve in County Cork, Ireland

Glengarriff Forest is a 300-hectare nature reserve set in a glacial valley that opens toward Bantry Bay. The woodland combines mature oak forest with younger regenerating sections that create layers of different forest ages and species composition.

The forest was part of Lord Bantry's private estate until 1955, when it passed to state ownership. Official nature reserve status arrived in 1991, marking a shift toward public protection and management.

The name Glengarriff comes from the Irish Gleann Gairbh, 'rough glen', and the woods are still known locally as Glengarriff forest park or state forest. Ownership shaped use: the White family, later Earls of Bantry, planted trees still standing today, and the state took over 380 hectares in 1955 for commercial forestry. Since 1991 the 300-hectare nature reserve has been managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The reserve is managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, and paths lead from the woodland near Glengarriff out toward the harbour shore. Ground can be wet under the oaks even in dry spells, so waterproof footwear helps. The mild coastal climate keeps the woods visitable in most weather.

The forest harbors several Hiberno-Lusitanian plant species that grow naturally only in southwestern Ireland and northern Iberia. This botanical connection means visitors can observe plants here that have existed in these two distant regions since ancient times.