THE SECRET IN GLENSHANE FOREST The Ponderosa overlooks Glenshane Forest. The forest has held a secret for almost two hundred years. You must explore on foot to find it. |
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Starting from the Ponderosa, turn left and travel along the Glenshane Pass for half a mile, then turn right to cross the cattle grid on to the Coolnasillagh Road. A quarter of a mile from the grid the road forks and you take a right turn at the spruce trees. Soon you will come to a farm-gate and, beyond the gate, you are in open bogland where sheep graze among the heather. Your road runs parallel to the main road and you are heading for the forest. A mile down this potholed track you come to a crossroads where you turn left. The river Roe gurgles and splashes over its stony bed. The hill on the far side of the river looks as if it has endured the impact of a large meteorite. In reality nothing so dramatic has happened. The devastation has been caused by harvesting of mature timber. You pass over a recently strengthened bridge with galvanized uprights and then over a smaller bridge. On your left is a mini marsh where bulrushes stand sentry and frogspawn glistens in early spring. The road forks and you keep left. Almost immediately you pass over another small bridge. You catch the scent of a fox and you hear low-pitched rattles and high-pitched trills from among the conifers. There is a second fork where a short pole with a yellow arrow indicates that you walk straight on. You cross another galvanised bridge. The road continues to meander with a gentle incline. As you near you destination, the slope becomes moderately and then more steep. It is quiet here. There is no birdsong, no river music and your feet are cushioned by the fallen leaves. The strenuous part of the walk does not last long and you find yourself in a small, natural amphitheatre where foxgloves and wood sorrel grow.. A wooden cross marks the priest's stony chair because this hollow was a place where Mass was secretly celebrated in penal times. |
Have a look at our Postcard from Mt. Everest
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