the drowned forest

at Gearagh, Macroom

We decided to take a day off today as it is a bank holiday and a change of scene is always a good idea.
I had been wanting to explore this area since first driving past it years ago, seeing the eerie ranks of dead tree stumps rising out of the water.
It was one of the last pieces of old growth alluvial oak forest in western europe, ten thousand years old, and in 1954 more than 60% of it was felled and flooded as part of a hydro electric power scheme.
Since then it has been declared a protected nature reserve and opened to the public. There are miles of paths to walk, more when water levels are low. Much is made of the rare water plant and bird species found there now, and it has its beauty, but I found it a very sad place.