Ellis Wood Nature Trail

Connemara National Park, Ireland

     Some of the many floral pleasures of Connemara are best sampled by walking and as you hike the woodland trails, such as the Ellis Wood Nature Trail, you will see golden gorse, red and purple fuchsia and white Himalayan knotweed—a colorful introduction to the lower slopes of a park encompassing nearly 5,000 acres of bogland and mountainous terrain.

     The start of the trail is near the Park Office and finishes 500 meters later next to the Audio Visual Theatre—highlights along the route include a waterfall, and a quaint building known as the “Power House.” As you begin the hike, you will find yourself descending a set of stone steps bordered on the left side by a wooden railing—a cascading waterfall flows over a rocky ledge off to the right.

     At the base of the steps, the trail becomes a flower-lined dirt path that winds past the “Power House” and through the Ellis Wood—mosses and lichens, wildflowers, trees, herbs, and bushes combine to create a lovely woodland from the understorey all the way up to the canopy. After a brief sojourn through the woodland, you emerge on the upper section of the trail by climbing a set of wooden steps—look back down the slope to appreciate the structure and layout of the many layers and storeys of Ellis Wood.