Thecoastal woodlands of north west Wales are variously referred to in Britain as Upland Oakwoods, Atlantic Oakwoods, Western Oakwoods or Temperate Rainforest, Caledonian forest, and colloquially as \'Celtic Rainforests\'. The majority of surviving fragments of Atlantic Oakwoods in Britain occur on steep-sided slopes above rivers and lakes which have avoided clearance and intensive grazing pressure. There are notable examples on the islands and shores of Loch Maree, Loch Sunart, Loch Lomond and one of the best preserved sites on the remote Taynish Peninsula in Argyll. There are also areas on steep-sided riverine gorges in Snowdonia and Mid Wales. In England, they occur in the Lake District (Borrowdale Woods) and steep-sided riverine and estuarine valleys in Devon and Cornwall including the Fowey valley in Cornwall and the valley of the river Dart which flows off Dartmoor and has rainfall in excess of 2 metres per year.

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