OnTheQT were recently driving towards East Cork. Every time we travel through Castlemartyr, we pass a wooded area on our right as we enter the quaint, picturesque town. This time we decided to investigate a little further and we are proud to say, we found you guys a great QT gem!
We parked the car, put on the wellies and went exploring. We all remember the Sunday autumn drives to the woods. The smell of the trees, fresh air and the sense of adventure that was buckled up inside us. The sound of the leaves crunching under your feet, the custard yellow, fresh orange, fall leaves falling from the trees, the beautiful woodlands, wildlife and the gentle breeze whistling softly through the trees. As we entered the woods in Castlemartyr, we found spanish chestnuts at our feet, which lead us to remember our childhood days of conkers and school yard games. Laughing and reminiscing, we discovered two beautiful trails. Firstly the Pigeon Wood loop which is a short stroll of 1km and secondly the Mitchell Wood Loop which is slightly longer at 2.4km. This walk starts and ends at the trailhead so we got to come back to our childhood memories at the end of our trail. We set off on our walk and crossed the Kiltha River using a old, wooden footbridge. We walked slowly through the forest trails with the crunching leaves at our feet, the fresh air and chirps from the wildlife are all around. The fall colours on beech, Spanish chestnut, Oak and Sitka spruce, hazel, alder and willow trees were beautiful and throughout the walk, we watched as the autumn leaves fell gentle to the floor creating a blanket of fall on the path.
We strolled on as the leaves rustled in the wind making a calm effect throughout the forest. The chirping of birds and scampering of the squirrels were only a short distance away. We enjoyed hearing the noisy crackling and crunching beneath our my feet. Castlemartyr Forest Recreation Area is the perfect place to stroll around, admire views, collect chestnuts or even bring a picnic. (QT Tip: It is a great place to burn off some energy of your little QT’s if you are on a car journey or a beach trip. It is the perfect place to stop and stretch the legs.) This is a walk ideal for those seeking a relatively short stroll and allows one to get up close to nature!
We walked a little further and found a man-made lake which lead to an historic, old Mansion house, now known as the Castlemartyr Hotel. The shadows of the leaves in the water was the perfect setting to outline the historic house. The walk allows you to dream, discover and explore the lakes, forest and castle ruins as you breath in the fresh air of nature. If you are lucky enough, you might even see some wildlife, including red squirrels, otters, stoats, pheasants and kingfishers. Sometimes you just need to breath in the fresh air, admire nature and forget all about your worries and this is exactly the place to do that. As we got back to the car, we were delighted after finding such a beautiful gem, especially in the autumn with the crunch of the leaves, chirp of the birds and hustle of the wind.
“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower”
Albert Camus
