Dromore Wood - A Treasure

If there is a way into the wood

There is a way out.

~ Irish Proverb

We had taken advice from friends and the landlady. We had made return trips to special places all around the area already. We had perused maps - debating the cost benefit ratio between the difficulty of the drive and the potential payoff of the adventure.

So far each trip had been worth it (except maybe the hike for the snails).

The maps disclosed many "sites," but one called to us. Listed on the Burren National Park website, Dromore Wood Reserve,* was only a short (20 minute or so) drive. Of course, it was expected to be down unmarked lanes, around missed turns,  and just beyond missing signage. So, we allowed an hour to find it and chanted our driving chant. "Take your time. Drive on the left-hand side." 

The drive was lovely, even if there was room for only one car on the narrow lanes.

Seriously, these roads were so small. We would turn on to smaller and smaller tracks and roll our eyes.

A sign! We knew Dromore Wood was just outside of Ruan.

We found the entrance to the woods and cars were parked along the roadway there and in every small "lay-by" we saw as we drove looking for the Visitor Center. The center is a good way into the reserve. We kept driving and noting cars parked here and there.

[Now, as we enter the preserve, note that there will be many, many photos so that we can go back and experience the wild of this place. Should you, dear reader, tire of moss and trees, please skip to the very end for a special orchid. There were other delights, but this will suffice for the impatient.]

Signs!

And another.

Eamon, a lovely young man who works for the government, was at the front desk and shared a map of the trails, recommending these visitors try the castle trail to start (and maybe a longer trail to see the actual woods after that). I think he was trying to be kind to the "old folks."

I should mention here that the center is quite amazing with examples of the creatures present on the property, recommended books, and posters of other wild things. We would stop in again at the end of our hikes, but first - The Castle Trail.

The Castle Trail is a loop. It really is an "easy" hike.

The boardwalk has a section with tiles as well. And, on this damp morning, the tiles were slick.  Here we are crossing Dromore Lough.

The River Fergus in the distance, I think.

O'Brien Castle (of course it is locked)

The carving over the gate is only partial. It should be "O'Brien"  and the date is missing. It reads something like: THIS CASTLE WAS BUILT BY TEIGE SECOND SON TO CONNOR, THIRD EARLE OF THOMOND AND BY --- SLANY BRIEN WIFE TO THE SAID TEIGE ANNO D --- 

A Bird's Nest Fern

This loop is lovely, but does not include the large trees found elsewhere in the wood.

Purple Loosestrife proliferates here.

This moss almost looks like a fern.

We could have made the hike in record time, but someone was finding interesting things.

It's a stunningly beautiful place.

I think this is the Lough.

More ferns.

Holly

Part of the trail. It is a little rugged, but not too bad.

Oh, the views!

It's a crane's bill.

I have no idea. This is one of those things that could be carrot, or Queen Anne's Lace, or Hemlock. Whatever, the insects love it.

Some plants attract insects.

The plant may be wild carrot or hemlock or something else. It is definitely an herb I would not collect. Too risky. But the insects LOVE it. Wait, I think I just said that!

Housefly?

Ah, the banks of the Lough.

DH waits patiently along the trail.

This tiny yellow flower has one of my favorite wildflower names - Lady's Bedstraw. I knew there had to be a story.** We found it in many places during the trip, but it was new to me.

I don't know that we identified this.

But it is gorgeous!

A lone bird - cormorant? - was spotted on the lough.

This fellow was always wandering ahead of me.

Don't stop too long or you will be overtaken by brambles and covered in moss.

I found these all over the place last summer, but could never find an identification. Thanks to a poster in the visitor center I have learned these are the fruit of the Cuckoo-Pint (also called Lords and Ladies and I would call it a Jack-in-the-pulpit).***

They start out green and turn bright red. Don't eat them. You will get a stomachache.

OH! We looked down towards the end of the castle walk and saw a Common Spotted Orchid! What a gift, this little beauty peaking out of the grass at the side of the path.

Around the back side of the loop was one small Common Spotted Orchid. I am always excited to see an orchid...even the common ones.

How can anyone not love these sweet flowers? Nothing common here.

Another new flower to me was this one that grew almost everywhere we went and had some interesting growth habits. It is the Common Selfheal.**** Yes, it is used for wounds.

I never discovered what these seed containers looked like in the spring. Seems I will need another trip.

A glacial erratic - cool expression for a large boulder left by a glacier long, long ago.

Another plant new to me - Tutsan, perhaps related to St. John's Wort.

It is another healing plant.

What's a good stretch of the legs without a ruined cottage or two?

The DH and I continue to laugh and take photos at ruins, captioning them "our next home."

Which way do we go?

We headed back to the "boardwalk."

We were told we had missed the dragonflies. They love the sun and we were there on an overcast day.

Everywhere we looked was something lovely.

We decided to take a longer hike through the woods. Little did we know that we would finally snag some photos of the elusive European Common Frog. Again, this little frog is not common to us. It is the only frog in Ireland (there is a toad - the Natterjack Toad - that is endangered and only found on Dingle and a newt). The lone frog we saw in Garrylands Reserve escaped a photo. We would manage many photos and video on this hike. Big frogs and tiny frogs hopped through the leaf litter in the woods. We were giddy with excitement.

Dromore is amazing. And we were surprised to have the place almost to ourselves. Perhaps it is it's distance from larger towns or the narrow lanes that lead to the place. The locals know it, but I think it is one of those hidden treasures I hesitate to tell people about it. Still, I suspect, unless they build a serious road to the place, it's safe for those of us "in the know."

We wandered paved roads and dirt paths. I'm sure it is more than possible to become lost here. Wouldn't it be wonderful?

There is that guy again. This was one of the rougher paths - full of rocks and roots.

See why it is so hard to notice the frogs? I had to step off the path and see them hopping to realize they were all around us.

Seriously tall trees.

Thick foliage on the forest floor provides cover for the hoppers.

Yes, that is a frog in the center of the photo.

There's a tiny one.

Here is a larger one. They look a little like our leopard frogs.

Imagine all that is hiding in there (but, blessedly, no snakes!).

I advised DH to step off the path. That's all it took to start the frogs hopping.

We also found a dead little creature. Eamon told us what it was - Eurasian Pygmy Shrew.

Wood Sorrel.

I'm writing this some 3 months after the hike. I can still feel the calm cool day.

I can almost hear the trees whispering, "Come in. Walk here. Stay."

Every now and then I would look up, to see if there was a break in the canopy.

More of the wood.

Moss covered stones.

Wood Sorrel

And more Wood Sorrel

Perhaps now is the time I stop to tell about the Wood Sorrel. According to Susan, our guide the following day at the Burren National Park, there is no such thing as a "shamrock." Many plants enjoy the three heart-shaped leaves we think of as constituting a "shamrock." At some point there was an official determination of what plant would be considered the true shamrock. Would it be the Red or White Clover? Would it be the Wood Sorrel? No, the deciders voted the Yellow Clover would be the "official shamrock." I am not sure I have ever seen a Yellow Clover. Still, I agree with Susan - the Wood Sorrel should be the one. I think it my favorite - often rising from a moss-covered spot. And so there are (and will be) many Wood Sorrel photos here.

Sometimes it seemed like we were off the trail. Or maybe this is a trail I wanted to try, but was stopped by my older and wiser companion.

Lord and Ladies

Lichen

Who lives here?

We found ourselves at the edge of the reserve.

We heard birds during the walk, but this is the only one that showed itself other than the Grey Heron at the boardwalk.

As we walked on the boardwalk we heard a loud "whooshing" noise. DH was instantly on alert and I stepped back, startled. Then we both watched as a Grey Heron few up and across the reedy water. We laughed, but it was nervous laughter.

I did not recover quickly. So these are poor views of the heron.

This would be a marvelous place for bird watching.

And it is also a great place to fish.

After our final hike we went into the Visitor Center and talked to Eamon about the frogs and the orchid. Amused, he asked if we had seen the orchids on a path nearby. We had not. So he left the visitor center and walked us up a trail to where he had observed some orchids beginning to bloom that day.

The plain exterior belies the amazing displays inside.

DH watched me closely to insure no skulls went in a pocket.

We did see a rabbit as we drove in, but that was about it. The wildlife stayed away, save the frogs and a few birds.

And there they were. It's the Broad-leaved Helleborine. Eamon says it has become invasive in some parts of the American mid-west.

It's sweet to see in the woods in Ireland, but apparently a menace in Michigan.*****

We thanked Eamon and said our goodbyes. We told him we would be on a guided hike the next day in the National Park. Little did we know he would call ahead and our guide, Susan, would be watching for these two Americans who were thrilled to see the frogs and the orchids.

Maybe we should have known we would be so well cared for as it has always been our experience in this country. It is indeed a magical place - and the people are the magic.

NOTES:

*http://www.burrennationalpark.ie/nature-reserves [So many names seem like something out of a book. "Dromore Wood" sounded like a place we could get lost.

**https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galium_verum
***https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arum_maculatum
****https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunella_vulgaris
*****http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/homeowners_battling_a_weedy_orchid_invading_lawns_and_flowerbeds

Final Note:

As I return to these paths to finish this post it becomes clear to me that we were merely scouting for a longer stay. We will need to hike all the trails. We will need to come on a sunny day for the dragonflies. One trip leads to another and another.