Clonbur Wood
Overview
The lands were formally part of the Ashford Estate which were owned by the Guinness family until 1939. The remains of Ballykine castle are visable along the route.
The existing forest roads provide a very pleasant walk through Clonbur Wood. Traversing mixed woodlands, it skirts along the south edge of Lough Mask providing a panoramic view of the lake and its Islands.
Things to do
Walk:. This 7.5 km loop walk (7.5Km, 3Hr, easy) goes through mixed woodland with a wide variety of both native and exotic tree species such as beech, ash, hazel, birch, willow, yew, Scots pine and larch. Along the route you can enjoy views of Lough Mask, the remains of a shooting lodge, limestone pavement, Clonbur river and turloughs. There is signage along your route outlining the work undertaken to restore 293ha of priority woodland under the Life nature project. A linear 12 km (return) trail (12Km, 3.5hr, easy)takes you through Clonbur wood and onto Cong village. The trail goes under county roads via two underpasses in Cong wood. Along the way you will enter pigeon hole wood and see pigeon hole cave/sink. This part of the trail passes along the Cong nature trail to Cong village. The old specimen trees you see were planted by Lord Ardilaun over a hundred years ago. At the end of the trail at Cong village you can refer to the trail signage to see looped walks from there. Cong and Ashford grounds are well known as the location for the film "The Quiet Man".
Cycle: The road network is suitable for cycling.
Explore nature: There is a wide diversity of species here, and information signage on the trails to explain restoration works undertaken under EU life funded project. Clonbur is a Native Forest. For more information on Clonbur visit http://www.woodlandrestoration.ie/demonstration-sites-clonbur.php.
Don’t miss our hidden gem
Limestone pavement and the pigeon hole cave.