Bellamont Forest Walk

Saturday in Nature

Bluebells

Located in Cootehill, County Cavan  (click here for directions).

Hikers

Entrance is across the road from St Michael’s Church.

Lake View

There is a path through forest and beside a lake. Nice relaxing walk. No hills.

Hikers

We walked about 2 miles. That was enough for our children.

Bellamount House

Over the lake is a Bellamont House. It is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of Palladian Architecture in Ireland.

Butterfly

If to keep your eyes open while walking you can observe lot of wildlife around you and enjoy a beautiful nature.

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Blackrock

Suburb of Dundalk

Beach Promenade

Blackrock (Irish: Na Creagacha Dubha), is a seaside village just to the south of Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland (here are directions). The village is in the townland of Haggardstown. The current population of the village is about 3,000.

In the 1950s and 60s, Blackrock was a holiday destination for people in landlocked Monaghan and Cavan. The beach that is pictured in the colourised postcards of that era (still on sale) was created with sand imported from beaches further down the coast, as the sand was continually washed away to contribute to the buildup of silt in Dundalk Bay. Although it is no longer considered a tourist resort, there remains a tradition of visiting Blackrock on the 15th of August (vide the Celtic feast of Lúnasa).

Cooley Mountains

Since the late 1960s, Blackrock has expanded significantly and has become more of a suburb to Dundalk. With the opening of the M1 motorway to Dublin, there has been another wave of expansion and it is also becoming a commuter town with access to North Dublin.

The view looking North over Dundalk Bay from the promenade toward the Cooley Mountains is impressive.

In common with a number of east coast locations, the beach has a very gentle gradient and the sea retreats about 5 km at low tide. The exposed seabed is a mixture of sand and mud flats.

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Kingscourt

Fort of the King

Main Street

Kingscourt, historically known as Dunaree (Irish: Dún na Rí, meaning “fort of the king”), is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. It is located near the Cavan-Meath border and has a population of over 3,000, making it the fourth largest town in County Cavan (click here for directions). The town was founded near the site of the old village of Cabra, by Mervyn Pratt, towards the end of the 18th century, and was completed by his brother, The Rev. Joseph Pratt

Church on the Hill

Cabra Castle, an early 19th-century ‘Gothick-style’ castle, is located very near the town, being on the R179 (known locally as the Carrickmacross Road). The castle was originally called Cormey Castle and was built on the site of an earlier Cormey Castle which had been destroyed during the Cromwellian War. The castle has, in recent years, been restored and expanded and is now a five star hotel which is popular for weddings.

Dún na Rí Forest Park is located a couple of kilometers from Kingscourt. Situated in a valley, and formerly part of the Pratt family‘s Cabra Estate (which was centered on nearby Cabra Castle), Dún na Rí is home to stoat, hare, mink, rabbit and otter, as well as red and grey squirrel along the banks of the River Cabra.

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Shercock

Young Love

Shercock

Shercock (Irish: Searcóg, meaning “young love”) is a small town situated in the east of County Cavan, Ireland. The current population of the town is 1032 people with almost triple this amount in the surrounding areas (click here for directions).

Shercock is located at the intersection of the R162 and R178 regional roads. The town is located on the shores of three lakes – Lough Sillan, Steepleton’s Lake and Muddy Lake. Lough Sillan is the largest of the three covering some 162 hectares.

Lough Sillan

The town was founded in the early 17th century as a Plantation village to accommodate mainly Presbyterian British settlers who colonised this part of County Cavan. Usually these new settlers gave their towns English or Scottish names – near neighbours are Kingscourt, Cootehill, and Bailieborough – but the existing Irish names were maintained in Shercock.

By the mid-19th century the village and immediate area had a population of about 5,000. However, the great famines and subsequent emigration severely affected the county of Cavan, reducing the population by 50% between 1841 and 1891.

St.Patrick’s Church

The area is “Drumlin Country”, being a landscape of small hills and lakes formed at the end of the last ice age. County Cavan borders County Fermanagh and County Monaghan. Together, they form the colloquially named, “Drumlin County”. Shercock lies on the border between County Cavan and County Monaghan.

Lough Sillan, on the edge of the town, is a noted coarse fishing lake with thousands of metres of shore for free all-year angling. There are several smaller lakes within easy reach of the town. (Sorce: Wikipedia)

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Long Winter is Over. Smile :)

Clontibert, County Monaghan

It has been a while since our last post, but now long and tiresome winter is over and our blog will have a  kick start. From now on at least a post a day. Promise 🙂
Remember: This blog is all about Ireland!

If…

County Louth

– you’re a resident of Ireland. Cool. Go and find a name of your home county from sidebar or at the end of this post. Help us with an inside information. What to do, where to go, what is worthwhile to see in your home place. Leave comments, suggestions, write to us. We would love to have a feedback.

Can’t find a name of your county? Don’t panic. Its still there. We just haven’t had time to come and explore it. But we will and it’s coming soon. Your input is highly appreciated, so let us know what  to see  and do in your home county.

– you’re interested about traveling to Ireland. Thumb through our site and you’ll get an idea of places which are worth of exploring.

– you just randomly stumbled on our page. Enjoy! Ireland is Beautiful 🙂