Start by Southern end of View point Trail, by the
View Garden.
1. Rhododendron ponticum. Decorative Himalayan
flowering shrub planted in park as game cover;
seeds itself. Thriving in Glenveagh’s acidic
peaty soil. Self-seeded and spread through
woodlands the entire length of the valley and
beyond. Stifles any other growth, inedible to
birds and grazing animals.
Eradication
programme ongoing since 1980’s. Of the 250
varieties of rhododendrons in the garden
rhododendron ponticum is the one variety that
requires control.
2. Shingle Roof.
Traditional Irish roofing
method, early monastic folk were shingle roof
specialists. All wood you see here milled from
fallen Scots Pines in park and finished by our
own craftsmen.
3. Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis). Delicate
plant, or so it appears…Garden escape! Dew
beads like mercury on leaves, retains moisture.
Collected dew once believed to have magical
powers. Used by herbalists to stem blood flow
and heal cuts and wounds.
4. Oak (Quercus petraea), Holly (Ilex aquifolium)
and Downy Birch (Betula pubescens) Native
trees. Note how very little growth on the
lower part of the trees where Rhododendron
ponticum was.
5. Pernettya
/Prickly
Heath
(Gaultheria
mucronata). Another introduction, now spread
by birds, by passing their berries. As a result,
very hard to control, very scattered.. Watch
out for Redwing and Fieldfare birds, winter
visitors, love the berries!
6. From here one can see the U-shaped valley,
carved by glaciation. The ice retreated only
10,000 to 12,000 thousand years ago.
7. Ivy (Hedera helix) and Oak.
Ivy
possibly as old as the tree. Oak also
supports epiphytes (plants that need a
host) such as ferns, mosses and lichens.
8. Pirri-pirri-burr
(Acaena
noveazeylandica). Native to New Zealand.
First recorded in this area near Dunlewy
in the 1950’s, as a garden escape.
Possibly arrived here on peoples shoes…
Watch out for it the whole way around
the viewpoint trail!!
9. Ling (Calluna vulgaris).
Native, also
known as true heather, attracts bees
and butterflies when flowering from mid
summer to mid autumn.
10. Bog Myrtle. (Sweet Gale, Myrica gale).
Leaves used as a midge repellent.
11. View Point. Lake runs from left to right,
Southwest
to
Northeast,
roughly
pointing towards Fanad Light house,
along the Owencarrow rift, which links
under the sea with the Great Scottish
Rift Valley through to Loch Ness. These
rifts were formed perhaps in the
Palaeozoic age, which began 520 million
years ago. Dooish mountain is directly
across the lake.
12. Black Bog Rush (Schoenus nigricans).
Common to west coast extremities.
13. Colts Foot (Tussilago farfara). Often
used as a cough suppressant, also for
treatment of asthma and other chest
complaints.
14. Mixed native woodland.
The harsh
effect of the wind can be seen on the
stunted height of the trees.
15. Yew Tree (Taxus baccata). Irelands
only native coniferous tree which can
live up to 2,000 years.
16. Tree Ferns (Dicksonia antarctica). Self
seeded in the small valley below you. A
garden escape originally imported from
Tasmania.
17. Fenced Forestry on opposite side of lake.
Exclosure fence erected in 1977 to keep
out deer and other grazing animals. Downy
Birch and a variety of heather are thriving
as a result. Downy Birch would have been
one of the very first trees to colonise the
valley after the glaciers retreated.
18. Erratic (Boulder).
Dumped here by
retreating glacier. U-shaped valley carved
by ice. Also Truncated spurs to the left.
Slightly more fertile soil in the moraine to
the right, all dumped as glacier retreated.
19. St. Johns Wort (Hypericum), widely used
as an antidepressant. Used to be available
across the counter from most health food
shops but recent legislation requires a
prescription, sparking a debate about the
availability of herbal remedies and their
sale in this country.
Please close the gate. Note the difference in
vegetation on the inside of the deer fence.
Heathers, Bog Myrtle and trees all thriving
compared to grazed lands outside the fence.
20. Pineapple on a pillar. This symbol of a
pineapple was a sign of hospitality, only
the most genorous of hosts would provide
the exotic fruit for guests.
21. Common Ash Tree (Fraxinus excelsior),
Scots pine tree (Pinus sylvestris), Pink
fuchsia (Fuchsia). Trees self seeded and
pink fuchsia also. All self-sown!!
From here you can go directly through the
gardens back to the castle. Take some time to
explore if you can, keeping an eye out in
particular for our flowering Rhododendrons!!