BSW1 A microcosm of Ireland

Episode 13,   Nov 03, 2021, 01:05 PM

From The Bluestack Way Audio Guide, Part One: https://www.racontour.com/Bluestack/

Speaker: Alec Reid
From the Bluestack Way - Part 1 playlist.

You're now moving away from the main traffic as the road narrows. It's a great place to tell you about the flora of the area. You should be looking out for the following along this section: -
 
 - Whins, ferns (whins and ferns give the area its most typical colours gold and bronze)
 - Bluebells (in woods in late April/early May especially near nearby Ardnamona)
 - Montbretia (import now naturalised around ditches, lovely in August/September)
 - Lichens ( grey lichens on old stone walls evidence of purity of air of Bluestacks)
 - Marsh marigolds, cuckoo flowers, meadowsweet, umbellifers, irises
 - Buttercups in moist meadows
 - Selfheal, bird trefoil, oxeye daisies, clovers in drier fields.
 
 It's said that lichen could tell early man of which direction he was facing - with lichen growing on the southern face of rocks as it got its daily sun! Come the Autumn, this whole area is an excellent place to forage - just make sure you know what you're picking.
 
 In our audio piece, Alex Reid tells us to celebrate the microcosm of Ireland that is Lough Eske.