Tag: Castle Trail

A picnic bench with a view : Dromore Woods in Co. Clare

Dear Readers,

Last weekend has been a very eventful weekend as it was the first holy Communion of our youngest son Alex. This also meant we had a few extra people in the house, as both my parents and one of my brothers came over from Belgium and David’s parents came over from Northern Ireland. The weather had been absolutely awful on Friday, and I was dreading Saturday afternoon, as we were doing a BBQ at the back of our house. When we were last at Dromore Woods, I spotted a picnic bench with a view and wanted to share this experience with the grandparents.

Somehow the weather turned sunny and warm, and we had a great time sitting outside, kids playing in the garden, enjoying the sun, food and each other company. We could not have been more lucky! Around 6 it started to rain, but at that stage we were inside.

The next day we ventured to Galway to do some shopping, and got absolutely drenched in a downpour.

I had taken the day off on Monday and wanted to take both sets of parents to a nature reserve in Co, Clare that I love called Dromore Woods. I previously wrote about it before in this entry. I started to prepare a large picnic in the morning as there was 7 of us! It was very windy and wintry showers, and I was starting to think we’d end up eating the sandwiches in the car if the weather did not improve!
Seemingly the weather gods were on our side, as once I pulled up at the reserve it was very sunny!!

We went for the Castle Trail. It ‘s just under 3 kms and a good part of the walk is beside the water. I still think it’s one of the most beautiful walks I have done, surrounded by nature, Ok, I admit, the beautiful weather most definately boosted the experience, as everything just looks in technicolour. Below are some pictures I took.

The park ranger is very helpful, and I think he must have one of the better views out of his window when he starts work!

A well set up display of wildlife and information about fauna and Flora in the area.

It’s not quite the bridge over the River Kwai, but to me it’s very special bridge, and the view over the water and the ruins of the castle is breathtaking.

The Castle Trail walk has a few picnic benches, but there is one particular bench (after reference point 7) that is worth waiting for, as it is a bit sheltered and gives you a wonderful view over the water.
Below is an image of both sets of grandparents and the kids!

Picture of my parents.

Picture of David’s parents.

Picture of us all, Alex took the picture.

And this is the view from the picnic bench- I LOVE IT

We then packed up, and walked the rest of the walk, back to the car park..
Guess what, by the time we left, it started to rain…

So glad I was able to share this wonderful place with my parents and David’s parents!
Cheers,
Katleen

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May 19, 2015
Dromore Woods- Castle Walk – Hidden treasures in Co. Clare

Dear Readers,

Sundays is usually downtime in our house, which means having Sunday dinner (Roast chicken or any other type of meat in the oven), potatoes, and vegetables, and then oodles of cups of tea, and a good read of the Sunday papers( we are avid Sunday Times Reader).

Today was no different really, except that, before we chilled out, we went for a walk.

Castle Walk at Dromore Woods

We went to a place called Dromore Woods, which is is a wonderful nature reserve with 1,000 acres of woodland.The remains of the 15th century Ruan Church is right next to Dromore Lake.

Tours and booklets are available and admission is free. Dromore Woods is about 13km north of Ennis and 10 km from Gort. The nearby village of Corofin, surrounded by lakes, is a good area for trout fishing

The Burren has a lot to offer, Dromore Woods is probably one of the lesser known places you can go to explore.

The Castle trail is about 45 minutes and has some fabulous views across the lake and the castle.

There are 12 markers, and if you bought the trail guide, you can read you some interesting information about each location on the trail.

It’s pretty uneven/hilly/narrow/stoney territory and not really suitable for parents with buggies or wheelchair users.

It’s 45 minutes, but there are a lot of benches to take a break or to take in the views.

We had brought some fruit and tea, next time I am bringing lunch, as it would be great to have lunch, overlooking the lake..:)

I am enclosing the main nature visiting places in the Burren : http://www.burrenbeo.com/visitor-info/attractions/nature

How to get to Dromore Woods?

Here is just a little map on how to get to Dromore Woods.

Unfortunately it’s not possible to get there by public transport, so you’ll need a car, but it’s fairly well signposted once you are outside of Crusheen ( passed the bridge on the way to Ennis, on the “old” road” – as Crusheen is now bypassed – since the new motorway to Shannon was built)

Where to park at Dromore Woods Nature Reserve

Just a word of advice, once you arrive at the entrance, you might be tempted to park your car.

By all means, park your car, you can start walking, however it’s a very long walk from the parking at the top to the visitors centre.(The drive reminds me a bit of a jungle drive, as it’s a very narrow road, and you are in the middle of dense woods, I just kept thinking there might be some wild animal that would jump in front of us!!) It’s better to drive to the visitor centre, as all the walks start from the visitors Centre.

The Visitor centre itself is worth a visit, as it has a great display of fauna and flora in the wood, some information on types of bats you can find in the woods, and some brochures about the walks. We bought the Dromore Wood Trail Guide, as it gives you some information on two of the walks. We once did the Rabbit Walk, so today we did the Castle Trail. There are a few more trails you can do, but those are not documented in the guide.

Have a great day!

Katleen

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May 20, 2013