Ballyannan Wood
2.3km loop · Flat to moderate gradients elevation
About
Locals call it the Bluebell Woods and the name is earned. Ballyannan is roughly 25 hectares of mature mixed woodland on the edge of the Owenacurra estuary just south of the town, and Coillte, which manages it, singles out the bluebell carpet from mid-April into May as its own highlight. The wood is old: it shows as woodland on the Down Survey map of 1654 to 1656, and what you walk through is a former estate, with old stone walls, gate pillars, ruined cottages and boathouses still visible in the undergrowth, and some of the original cobbled carriage paths still running between lines of lime trees. At low water the estuary shore opens out into mudflats that pull in feeding birds; little egrets are a regular sight along the shoreline.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓Bluebells from mid-April into May
- ✓Specimen lime and beech trees from the old estate
- ✓Old cobbled carriage paths, stone walls and ruined boathouses
- ✓Little egrets and feeding birds on the estuary mudflats at low water
- ✓Woodland shown on the Down Survey map of 1654 to 1656
Tips
- →Time a spring visit to mid-April or May for the bluebells; Coillte flags that window itself.
- →Coillte grades the 2.3km loop as moderate, not easy. It combines flat sections with real gradients and it is a forest surface, not a path.
- →Go at low water if you want the birds. The mudflats are the draw and they are underwater at high tide.
- →Boots. The carriage paths are the good bit; the rest of it is woodland floor.
- →This is a Coillte site, so normal forest-park etiquette applies: leave the bluebells where they are.
Best Season
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