Friday was mostly cloudy with some hazy sunshine filtering through. No blue skies though. We decided to do something new today – a visit to Glanteenassig Forest Park near the town of Castlegregory. Castlegregory is located just over Conor Pass from Dingle and we have ridden by the side road to the park dozens of times but never visited before. Although it’s reportedly a great picnic spot, we decided not to pack a lunch.
The park is quite beautiful. There are several lakes fed by mountain streams. The lakes are populated by local brown trout and stocked with rainbow trout, so anglers will love it here. There is, oddly, lots of dead trees and some deforestation, but it is still very scenic. There is no explanation provided for the dead trees. We hiked 1.8 kilometers (OK, walked) around one lake on an ingeniously built wood plank pathway. There was a tree growing out of a rock and a tree that started growing upside down before righting itself. Elaine especially loved it here. And, indeed, it was a great spot for a picnic.
Click on the galleries below to bring up scrollable windows with full size pictures – the gallery previews show just thumbnails of the pictures
This Gate Does What? 
Lots of Moss 
Ingenious Walkway 
It Runs for 1.8 Kms 
Rest and Contemplation 
My World! 
Upside Down Tree 
Wildflowers Galore 
After our visit we planned to return to Dingle through Anascual rather than back over Conor Pass. Inch Beach is just a few kilometers from Anascual, and a friend had recommended Sammy’s Restaurant at the beach. So we stopped there for a nice lunch. Elaine had a Reuben and I had a delicious Steak and Guinness Pie with chips. It was, of course, accompanied by a Guinness.
View from Our Table 
Ahhhhh 
Dinner consisted of a baguette from Bacus (disappointing), duck paté from the farmer’s market (wonderful), and a variety of cheeses (yum!) from Dingle’s Little Cheese Shop. After dinner we ventured into town for some music at O’Flaherty’s where we chatted with some people we knew from previous trips and some new friends made this trip.
And home to bed.
What a beautiful and strange forest park. I love that walkway and the gate to nowhere.
What, no surf lessons for you guys!!
You two are certainly exploring new areas and what a unique Forest Park with the plank system. I agree with Sue, surf lessons for sure! Cindy
You two are blazing New trails on this trip. My sister Marilyn and I used to explore nature trails around here. A few times when there were wood plank walkways it was because the underlying ground was what is known as a QUAKING BOG (Google). Could that be the case here? Once again, beautiful photos. Beautiful spot.