Celebrating International Day of Forests
In 2012, The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the 21st of March to be International Day of Forests. Designed to celebrate and raise awareness to all types of forests, and the integral role they play in providing habitats, oxygen, shelter and a host of valuable resources. The theme for 2022 is “Forests and sustainable production and consumption’.
Wicklow Uplands Council is proud to be part of the global celebrations by profiling some of the many forest trails found throughout the region.
Forming part of the Clara Vale Nature Reserve, Ballygannon Wood is the second largest oak forest in Ireland. The Irish name Baile na gCanonach, means “The town or dwelling of the canons “. The canons – clerics attached to a cathedral – owned land near Rathdrum and had been brought to Dublin by St. Laurence O’ Toole in the 12th century.
One of Ireland’s millennium forests, Ballygannon Wood is one of 16 native woodlands that have been restored. During various times of the year visitors can find wild honeysuckle, bilberry , primroses, bluebells and violets growing on the forest floor. Fauna in the wood includes long-eared owls, woodcocks, red squirrels, badgers and foxes.
There are 2 trails which can cater for the casual stroller or the nature enthusiast:
The Green Trail: (0.5 km, 30 mins, Moderate)
The Red Trail (1.5 km, 75mins, Moderate)
The popular Devil’s Glen close to the village of Ashford, boasts a dramatic landscape that was fashioned at the end of the Ice Age when the melt waters of the ice sheet created the valley.
Prior to the construction of the Vartry Reservoir near the upland village of Roundwood in the 1860’s, the roar from the waterfall was much greater than it is today. Its echo through the gorge sounded as a “Satanic power announcing some great doom” and gave the glen its popular name.
The area was once part of the Glanmore estate, former ancestral home of playwright John Millington Synge. On the northern bank of the river you can see the privately owned Tottenham Estate.
The forest hosts a mixture of broad leaf and conifer forest with fine stands of beech, Spanish chestnut and ash. The steep rock face of the gorge has been colonised by various species of plant life: lichens, mosses and the polypody fern.
Devil’s Glen Forest has 2 looped and waymarked trails:
The Seamus Heaney Walk (4kms, 2hrs, moderate) named in honour of the poet and Nobel Prize winner this is a lovely walk through the high forest;
The Waterfall Walk (5kms, 2hrs, moderate)
Tomnafinnoge Woods, in the south western corner of County Wicklow, is one of Ireland’s great ancient woodlands. Close the village of Shillelagh, the giant oak tree forest is famed for historically providing timber to notable construction and boat building projects
Once forming part of the Coollattin Estate, one of the biggest and wealthiest Anglo-Irish Estates and home to the Earls of Fitzwilliam until 1975. The estate grounds once boasted more than 85,000 acres – an area equal to one fifth of County Wicklow.
Tomnafinnoge Woods offer four different walks of varying distance:
The River Walk (linear, along the banks of the Derry River. (2.9km,45 mins, easy)
The Beech Walk. (Looped, 3.6km,60 mins, moderate)
The Oak Walk, (Looped, 3.7km,60 mins, easy)
The Hazel Walk (looped, 1.5km, 30mins, easy)
The Avondale House and Forest Park, was once the home of 19th century politician Charles Stewart Parnell, and is now owned by Coillte and is often considered to be the birthplace of Irish forestry.
The park is currently undergoing a significant €16 million redevelopment project that once completed, will see a visitor experience that includes a 38m high wooden viewing tower, 1.2km tree top walkway, giant slide, new visitor centre and a restored walled garden.
Within the park grounds, there are currently 3 trails to enjoy, (although access has temporarily restricted to weekends only as the final stages of the development project are completed).
The River Walk: (5.2kms, 2 hours, Hard)
Centenary Trail: (Looped, 2.6kms, 1 hour, Easy)
Railway Walk: (Linear, 2.1kms, 1 hour each way, Moderate)