Glengarra Wood, Forest Park , Galtee mountains , Tipperary , Ireland ,, Wintertime

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• published: 13 Dec 2013
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Glengarra wood Forest Park , Galtee Mountains or Galty Mountains , Tipperary , Ireland in winter time Location15 kms Southwest of Cahir, Co. Tipperary on the old Dublin/Cork road, now the R639. From Cahir, take Exit 11 off the M8 South Bound. At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto the R668, continue to the roundabout and take 1st exit onto the R639 (signposted Kilbeheny). Travel for 7.7 km, the entrance to Glengarra Woods will be on the right hand side. If you are travelling northwards from Cork, take exit 12 off the M8. At the 1st roundabout take the 1st exit for the N73 (signposted Mallow). At the 2nd roundabout take the 2nd exit onto the R639 (signposted Kilbeheny). Glengarra Woods is just 7.8km from Kilbeheny on the left hand side. The car park and picnic site is just 50 metres inside the entrance. Site Description Glengarra Wood property is approximately 570 Hectares in extent, situated on Old Red Sandstone, on the southern slopes of the Galtee Mountains in South Tipperary. It is mainly a coniferous forest with Sitka Spruce being the main species. Other conifer species are Scots Pine, Japanese Larch, Douglas Fir, Norway Spruce, Western Hemlock and Western Red Cedar. The area also contains approximately 50 Hectares of native Oak, Birch and Alder. Animals present include fallow deer, foxes, badgers, hares and red squirrels. Birds include pheasants, hawks, kestrels, ravens, herons and many song birds. Glengarra property was formerly part of the Shanbally Estate, between Burncourt and Clogheen, which was owned by Viscount Lismore. During the 19th century he built a lodge ( which is now An Óige youth hostel ) about 3 kms up from the main road. He planted the area along the river and road leading to the lodge with many native and exotic trees. Some of those that are still present are Cedars of Lebanon, Sequoiadendron, spruces, pines, Laurel and a variety of arboreal Rhododendron. The car park and picnic site area is very conveniently located near the entrance to the wood. It is located beside the river and a new footbridge has been erected to give access to other parts of the forest, including the Millennium Forest Project. A number of these projects were developed countrywide in the year 2000 as part of a government initiative to plant one native tree for every household in Ireland. This project here is 15 hectares in size and contains approximately 60,000 trees, mainly Oak with some Birch, Alder and Scots Pine as well. There are two waymarked trails on this site. A 2km loop walk starts at the car park and is waymarked in red. It goes across the river and through many different stands of trees, back over the river again, down a forest road, in through more forest before ending back at the car park. The Millennium Walk which is about 7 kms long commences at the top of the car park and is signposted by stakes with a green arrow and Oak leaf on them. There is a small car park about 1 km up the road to the An Óige Hostel which contains signage and information on the Millennium Forest. It stretches from about 120 metres to about 300 metres above sea level and there are a number of viewing points looking south to the lowlands and the Knockmealdown Mountains. Note: From the top of the Millennium trail, there is a mountain access route to Galtymore Mountain. It is not the traditional route to Galtymore but is used by some hikers nonetheless. Do not attempt this access route unless you are a skilled outdoor hiker and have excellent navigation skills. There are no waymarkers or aids to navigation along the way. It is exposed and very remote. A red squirrel can be seen jumping in a Tree at 07:35 A Fallow Deers Head can be seen watching me from woods at 08:35 The Galtee Mountains or Galty Mountains (Irish: Na Gaibhlte or Sléibhte na gCoillte) are a mountain range in Munster, located in Ireland's Golden Vale across parts of counties Limerick and South Tipperary. The name "Galtee" is thought to be a corruption of the Irish "Sléibhte na gCoillte" - "Mountains of the Forests" in English, however this Irish name has fallen out of use. The Galtees are Ireland's highest inland mountain range, taking the form of a high ridge which rises up almost sheer from the surrounding plain. The highest peak is Galtymore, which rises to 917 m (3,009 ft). I created this video with the YouTube Video Editor (http://www.youtube.com/editor)