Glenveagh National Park, County Donegal . Situated in the Northwest of Co. Donegal, Glenveagh encompasses some 1. Derryveagh Mountains. Such a great wilderness is the haunt of many interesting plants and animals.
The site consists of three areas. The largest of these is the former Glenveagh Estate, including most of the Derryveagh Mountains. To the west are the quartzite hills around Crocknafarragh and to the south, the peat lands of Lough Barra bog, Meenachullion and Crockastoller.
A new trail has been constructed from the Bus Shelter to Bridge House via the lake. This new trail, suitable for children. A small turn- off to the shoreline has dramatic views right up to the end of the glen. The path continues through mature pines where it joins onto the lower glen road to the Castle at the Bridge House. The Glenveagh Visitor Centre is located on the northern end of Lough Veagh, near the edge of the National Park.
Its award- winning design incorporates a living heather roof mimicking the surrounding landscape causing minimum disturbance. The extensive displays contained within provide an introduction to the parks natural and built history as well as providing information on walking trails, events etc.
Glenveagh National Park lies in the heart of the Derryveagh Mountains in the north-west of Co. It is a remote and hauntingly beautiful wilderness of rugged mountains and pristine lakes. This unique development of townhouses is superbly located in the heart of Letterkenny’s town centre. With its central location it is only a short stroll away from the town’s excellent choice of restaurants, cafes, bars. Glenveagh National Park. Glenveagh National Park is one of six national parks in Ireland. Situated in the Northwest of Co. Donegal, Glenveagh encompasses some 16,000 hectares in the heart of the Derryveagh Mountains.
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- Useful links in Donegal from Bunbeg House Gweedore. Links Glenveagh National Park. Glenveagh National Park lies in the heart of the Derryveagh Mountains in the north-west of Co.
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- Glenveagh National Park is a remote and hauntingly beautiful wilderness of rugged.
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Glenveagh National Park . Today it is difficult to believe that tree cover extended to the upper slopes, but the evidence of unearthed tree stumps in the bog prove that it did. Remains of the ancient pines can be seen protruding from weathered peat on many hills in the Park. The blanket bog to be found in Glenveagh is of the western or Atlantic type, which is found only in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. In Glenveagh, the underlying bedrock is fissured with geological joints and fractures, which appears as clefts and gullies. Peat cover is uneven and of varying dampness and bedrock is widely exposed. The result is a mosaic of vegetation types.
The drier patches are favoured by ling heather, bell heather, crowberry and blaeberry. The latter shrub, which has edible blue berries, is also known as bilberry or frochan. Crowberry is an enigmatic species in Glenveagh, it rarely occurs below 4. The damper patches of bog support wet grassland containing fescue, deer grass, rushes and purple moor grass or molinia. Purple moor grass is avoided by deer who seek out the sweeter grasses and sedges. This favours the growth of molinia , which is particularly abundant in Glenveagh. Other plants have become specially adapted to life in the nutrient poor bog.
These include the sundew and butterwort, which trap insects on their sticky leaves. The remains of the insect are digested by the plant extracting much- needed nutrients.
The lower slops of the bog takes on a different character as it reaches the lower ground of the sheltered valley floor. Bog cotton, whose snow- white cotton tufts are often identified with Irish bogs, makes a bold statement on the wetter patches. Bog asphodel is probably the most visible flower as having flowered its stems turn a dark saffron colour which catches the eye; it was once exploited for a yellow dye. The largest animal in the park is to be found grazing on the grasses and sedges of the bog.
Though enclosed by the deer fence the Glenveagh herd of Red Deer remain completely wild and as with most wild animals can be difficult to approach. The best time for watching Red Deer is during the mating season or .
Most depart for the winter, although no one knows whether they move to low lying ground in Ireland or migrate to Spain and Portugal. This in turn provides a food source for many of our keen eyed birds of prey including the peregrine and kestrel. These birds also feed on the other small animals to be found in the bog including, mice, shrews and lizards. Woodland. The park contains about 1. The largest stretch is Mullangore Wood on the south eastern shore of Lough Veagh, although several remnants are to be found on the steep slopes of Glenveagh where the terrain is too precipitous for blanket bog growth.
The woods are amongst the few native stands of timber left in Co. Donegal. The woods are dominated by oak and birch, with lesser amounts of rowan, holly, hazel, yew and aspen.
Woods of this kind are called western Oakwoods and occur principally in the uplands of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The denser areas of woodland are rich in plants adapted to moist shady conditions. Mosses and ferns form lush green carpets on boulders and trees, and delicate filmy ferns sprout from the banks of moss. Golden leafed saxifrage and liverworts cover the wetter rocks and woodrush, wood sorrel and wood anemone abound on the woodland floor. Red deer find woodland plants particularly palatable and the woods are heavily grazed except where fences keep them out. The woods are at their busiest in summer , when rising sap and fresh foliage provide plenty food for animals and insects. A variety of migrant birds, including the spotted flycatcher and chiffchaff arrive from Africa in mid May, in time to exploit the summer abundance of insect life.
Among these is the wood warbler, a rare bird in Ireland but annual visitor to Glenveagh. Arriving in mid- may the male claims his territory and advertises to females by singing vigorously. The best way to locate one is to listen for its unique descending trill likened to the spinning of a coin on a plate. Conifers planted in parts of the main glen harbour some typical pinewood birds including crossbill, siskin. Their prey includes a little seen denizen of the woods, the long tailed field mouse. However both being opportunistic will take a wider variety of foods ranging from worms in the spring to blackberries in the autumn. Freshwater. Lakes in the park range from the small lochans to the long deep waters of Lough Veagh, the main body of water in the park.
The areas from which the lakes collect their water all lie entirely within the park boundary, making it possible to prevent their pollution. The waters are clean and well oxygenated and are particularly suitable for salmonoid fish and eels.
Lough Veagh has modest runs of salmon and sea trout as well as stocks of arctic charr. Like the salmon the charr is seagoing in arctic and sub- arctic regions, but in western Europe it is confined to freshwater lakes where it has remained since the ice age. The . Charr populations isolated in different lakes over the past 1. Recent findings suggest that Glenveagh charr are significantly smaller than those in nearby Dunlewy Lake. Waterfowl are of major interest in Glenveigh and highlight the northern or Scottish connection. Visitors include the red- throated diver, which is increasing in numbers in Scotland and spreading southwards. Lough Veagh has long been the haunt of the red throated diver and it nests in small numbers in the Park.
The divers feed in nearby coastal waters, and divers calling as they fly in from the sea to their nesting areas are an evocative feature of summer mornings in Glenveagh. The Golden Eagle was once a common site over the mountains and coastal plains of Ireland but became extinct in 1. This makes Ireland the only country where Golden Eagles have become extinct in recent times. As early as 1. 98. National Parks and Wildlife Service in Glenveagh National Park began to study the feasibility of reintroducing golden Eagles to Ireland. They examined the availability of suitable live prey and carrion for Golden Eagles in Co.
Donegal and in 1. Irish Raptor Study Group joined that effort. The project has been co- ordinated by The Irish Raptor Study Group and the Curlew Trust though the management is left to a steering group which also contains members from NPWS, The Heritage Council, Irish Farmers Association and the North West Tourism Authority. After careful planning the actual reintroduction of Golden Eagle Chicks to Ireland began in 2.
Scotland. In 2. 00. Glenveagh with reported sightings from as far away as the Gap of Dungloe, Co. Golden Eagles do not breed until they are at least five or six years of age and it is hoped that six to eight pairs may be breeding in Donegal by 2. The best time of year to see Golden Eagles in the park is during the short winter days when there is a good possibility of seeing recently released birds. Though clearly visible to the naked eye, scanning the skyline with the aid of binoculars offers the best chance of spotting a soaring eagle.
All released birds sport coloured wing tags to allow for individual identification and park staff would be very pleased to hear of any eagle sightings.