Blanemore Forest Walk

6000 years of history lie in this woodland set above the wild bog-lands of North-Mayo. Explore the sacred tombs & field walls of our first farmers. Walk among the mysterious Bronze-age standing stones & sit with the brooding dark beauty of Lough Naweela.

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Blanemore Forest Walk

County Mayo Ireland

Created By: Moygownagh.ie

Tour Information

Welcome to Blanemore Forest Walk

“Six thousand years of history lie in this conifer woodland, set on a gravel ridge above the wild and ancient bog-lands of North-Mayo. Explore the sacred tombs and field walls of our first farmers. Walk among the mysterious standing stones of the bronze age and sit with the brooding dark beauty of Lough Naweela. This is a unique walk through Blanemore Forest.”

Information and directional signs are provided along the pathways. The walk trail grading level is EASY, and takes 1.5 hours, as per Sportireland guidelines, and is over gravel roads and graded pathways.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK. THIS IS A COILLTE OWNED, WORKING WOODLAND FOR TIMBER HARVEST AND DILIGENT ATTENTION TO HAZARDOUS TERRAIN IS ESSENTIAL. All walkers enter at their own discretion and no liability is accepted for any injuries sustained when participating on any aspect of the walk. - whether guided or otherwise. Please keep to the track-ways and care must be taken where underfoot conditions may be boggy, wet and slippery. Do not litter or light fires. Do not disturb plants, wildlife or archaeology. There is no digging or moving of in-situ rocks or stones permitted. It is also very advisable to wear insect (midge) repellent.

This walk has been only made possible by the efforts of local volunteers, with the support of Coillte Teo., Mayo County Council, Dept. of Rural and Community Development, Our Rural Future, Pobal and Moygownagh GAA.

For more information - www.blanemoreforest.com

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Tour Map

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What You'll See on the Tour

Welcome to our unique walk through Blane-more Forest, situated at the end of the bog road, through Garry-na-gran townland, where locals still cut turf from the bog, as fuel for their fireplaces. Our trail will take you past a mysterious ... Read more
Our walk departs from the gravel forestry road onto the pathway, where we come to stop 2 (A) which has the remains of a pre-bog wall emerging from the trees and running under the path. This rough line of large stones was likely construc... Read more
As we continue to Stop 2 (b) we arrive at the first ancient tomb at Blane-more. In the undergrowth are the remains of a stone-age court-tomb, of which the Killala bay region has the highest concentration of such megalithic tombs anywhere. ... Read more
As the pathway begins to ascend towards Blane-more ridge, we come to Stop 2 (c), where another pre-bog wall runs under our feet before disappearing into the bog again. While still a commercial woodland owned by the Irish state forestry com... Read more
At the top of the ridge, we arrive at Stop 3. Here, dramatically positioned in a small hollow, is the 'False Man'. This bronze-age granite standing stone has a remarkable vein of quartz running through its centre. The monument was likely... Read more
At Stop 4, our walk continues to the picnic area by Lough na-weela (the lake of the Seagulls). Please only approach the lake on the wooden platform, as the lake edges are very unstable. This landlocked lake takes its dark brooding appear... Read more
The final two stops of our walk are accessed along the short path, behind our last information display. Stop 5 (A) is the remarkable Bronze age stone row, apparently aligned towards Neph-in mountain (but now obscured by the trees). The ... Read more
Stop 5 (b) is our last stop and marks the second Court-tomb at Blane-more Forest. Here, at a much deeper level than the stone row, we see part of the collapsed inner chamber of this Neolithic tomb. Unlike the robbed-out tomb of stop 2 (b),... Read more
Congratulations! You have now finished our guided walk. Continue on the gravel forestry road to return to the car park at the exit. We hope that you enjoyed your time here. All the work on the walk has been carried out by local volunteers... Read more

 

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