Tollymore Forest
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Tollymore Forest Park is the first state forest park in Northern Ireland, established on 2 June 1955. It is located at Bryansford, near the town of Newcastle, at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. From the end of the eighteenth century, the forest was part of the estates of the Earls of Roden, but sold by them to the Ministry of Agriculture in 1930 and 1941.
Covering an area of 1,557 acres, the forest park offers panoramic views of the great mountains rising immediately to the south, to Slieve Croob to the north and to the sea at nearby Newcastle.
The forest has four walking trails signposted by coloured arrows, the longest being the "long haul trail" at 8 miles long. The Shimna River flows through the park, and here is joined by its tributary the Spinkwee, the streams watering the forest and providing its focus.
Tollymore was listed in The Sunday Times top twenty British picnic sites for 2000. The Forest Park is now owned and run by the Forest Service NI, part of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.[1]
Features
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Tollymore features many follies including a barn dressed up to look like a church, stone cones atop gate piers and gothic-style gate arches. All show the influence of the highly individualistic designer, Thomas Wright of County Durham (1711–1786), who was a friend of Lord Clanbrassil (Earl of Roden), owner of Tollymore at the time. Walks along the Shimna River are marked by many natural and artificial features – rocky outcrops, bridges, grottos and caves.
The forest has experimental forest plots of exotic trees such as monkey puzzle and eucalyptus and giant redwoods (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and Monterey pines. Oak wood from Tollymore was the preferred material for the interiors of the White Star liners including the RMS Titanic built in Belfast. The original tree of the slow-growing spruce, Picea abies 'Clanbrassiliana', which originated nearby in about 1750, remains and is the oldest tree in any arboretum in Ulster. An avenue of Deodar cedars (Cedrus deodara) is a striking feature of the entrance.[2]
The Forest Park also has camping and caravanning facilities.[1]
History
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The earliest mention of Tollymore was in records dated 1611 when it was stated that the Maginness family of Upper Iveagh received a grant of 7½ townlands including the Estate of Tollymore, from James I. This remained in the family until about 1685 when Bryan Maginness died unmarried and his sister Ellen, who had married Captain William Hamilton of Ayrshire, inherited the land. The Hamilton family remained owners of Tollymore until 1798. The great grandson of William Hamilton, James, died in 1798 without children and Tollymore was transferred to his sister Anne, who married Robert Jocelyn, 1st Earl of Roden. The Roden family continued in possession of Tollymore throughout the 19th century, and in 1930 the Robert Jocelyn, 8th Earl of Roden sold part of the estate to the Ministry of Agriculture for afforestation purposes. The remainder was sold to the Ministry in 1941.[3]
Zoology
Birds: Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major).[4]
Botany
Algae: Nitella flexilis (L.) Ag. var. flexilis.[5] Pteridophyta: Hymenophyllum wilsonii Hooker; Phegopteris connectilis (Michx.) Watt; Polystichum aculeatum (L.) Roth; Dryopteris aemula (Ait.) Kuntze.[5]
Angiospermae: Acaena ovalifolia Ruiz & Pavon; Acaena novae-zelandiae Kirk; Rosa arvensis Huds; Prunus padus L.; Circaea × intermedia Ehrh; Pyrola minor L.; Scrophularia auriculata L. Mimulus moschatus Dougl. ex Lindl.; Melampyrum pratense L.; Lathraea squamaria L. Pinguicula lusitanica L.; Mentha gentilis L.; Sambucus ebulus L.; Erigeron karvinskianus DC; Hieracium senescens Backhouse; Hieracium argenteum Fr.; Hieracium duriceps F. J. Hanbury; Hieracium grandidens Dahlst.; Hieracium stewartii (L.) Willd.; Neottia nidus-avis (L.) Rich.; Carex laevigata Sm.; Carex pallescens L.; Carex pilulifera L.; Festuca altissima All.; Melica uniflora Retz; Milium effusum L.[5]
Links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Tollymore Forest) |
- Map: 54°12’58"N, 5°55’1"W
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tollymore Forest Park - Forest Service NI
- ↑ "Tollymore Forest Park". Discover Northern Ireland. http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/Tollymore-Forest-Park-Newcastle-P2888. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
- ↑ "Tollymore Forest Park". The Mourne Mountains. Archived from the original on 23 January 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090123183320/http://mournemountains.com/tollymoreforestpark.htm. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
- ↑ A. M. G. McComb, R. Kernohan, P. Mawhirt, B. Robinson, J. Weir & B. Wells (2010). "Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major): proof of breeding in Tollymore Forest Park, Co. Down". Irish Naturalists' Journal 31: 66–67.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 P. Hackney, ed (1992). Stewart & Corry's Flora of the North-east of Ireland (3rd ed.). Institute of Irish Studies and Queen's University Belfast. ISBN 0-85389-446-9.
Books
- Tollymore: The History of an Irish Demesne (2005, by the 10th Earl of Roden)
- Kirk, David. 2010. A Tollymore Year. Published by Cottage. ISBN 978-1-900935-90-6
