Nature is one of our great inspirations. Always entrancing to behold, it has an astonishing power to make us gasp in wonderment at its symmetry, beauty and tenacity. Keats called it “the poetry of the earth” and yet in our busy lives, we often overlook its ability to sharpen our senses and renew our zest for life. Engaging with the natural world brings us inspiration, serenity and joy, so why not make a resolution, right now, to get close and personal with it this coming year? Be awe-inspired by nature’s grandest displays that occur throughout all seasons of the year at the locations listed below.
February
Snowdrops at Altamont Gardens, Co Carlow
Perhaps our pluckiest flower, it forces tiny white and green petals above the often snow-covered terrain when nearly all other plants are in slumber. Blooming as winter still grips the landscape, this delicate but tenacious little flower brings the heartening message that spring is on the way. Snowdrop Month has been running at Altamont Gardens for more than 20 years. Hugely popular, it goes ahead throughout February, offering a unique opportunity to get acquainted with great drifts of snowdrops in their prime. Admission to Altamont Gardens is free. There are guided tours during February at 2pm, each day from Monday to Friday.
February-March
Daffodil Avenue, Blarney Castle, Co Cork
Beloved for their bright yellow blooms, daffodils bring cheer to otherwise dismal late winter days and remind us of sunnier times ahead. It was Wordsworth who immortalised the “host of golden daffodils” as an uplifting experience and since then this early blooming flower has been associated with hope and new beginnings. In Irish, they are lus an chromchinn (Plant of the bent head) and were popular for the gardens of the great Irish houses in the 19th century. Now widely distributed across Ireland, they make breathtaking springtime displays. A great place to view them is Blarney Castle, about 8km northwest of Cork city, famous for its early blooming varieties. Some 30,000 daffodils have been planted to create a great sea of yellow beside the castle avenue. Admission costs €23 per adult, but this allows you to ramble the 60-acre gardens, explore the castle, visit some caves and even kiss the Blarney Stone if the mood takes you.
April-May
Bluebells and wild garlic at Knockatrina Wood, Durrow, Co Laois
Bluebells, most commonly associated with our native woodlands, are traditionally considered the magic flowers of the enchanted places populated by Ireland’s fairy folk. Blooming in late spring, a carpet of these violet-blue flowers on a woodland floor is one of the great spectacles of springtime in Ireland. They are easy to miss, however, as they disappear immediately the canopy of new leaves blocks the forest sunlight. Bluebells adorn many of Ireland’s native woodlands in spring, but my favourite place to view them is Knockatrina Wood. Here, a great flowering of bluebells is supplemented by another expansive blooming, that of wild garlic. This beautifully complements the bluebells with its white star-shaped flowers and transforms the forest floor into a breathtaking ocean of white and blue. Knockatrina Wood is about 1½km southeast of Durrow on the N77, Ballyraggett Road.
May-June
Rhododendrons in bloom, Clogheen, Co Tipperary
Introduced to Ireland in the 18th century as an ornamental plant, the rhododendron quickly established itself as a woodland tyrant by exterminating the natural vegetation of the forestry floor. In early summer it makes amends for this oppressive behaviour with an awesome display from its bell-like flowers. In the Knockmealdown Mountains, this purple and pink blooming has developed into a tourist attraction with people travelling long distances to witness it from the famous Vee Gap, a short distance south of Clogheen on the R668. Late May and early June is generally when the flowering is at its finest. And if you would like to get deep among the flowers, the Rhododendron Walking Festival is your answer. Taking place over the June Bank Holiday Weekend, it offers a choice of walks on Saturday and Sunday when everyone gets close and personal with the extraordinary flowering.
May-July
Seabird nesting, Rathlin Island, Co Antrim
Rathlin Island, a place few southerners have visited, has a long and bloody history and is where Irish and Scots have traditionally encountered each other – not always on friendly terms. In early summer, most visitors to Northern Ireland’s only inhabited island will take the Puffin Bus to the West Light Seabird Centre, for this is the time when seabirds come ashore to nest in crevasses and burrows among the great sea cliffs on the western tip of the island. The attraction is thousands of puffins, razorbills, guillemots and fulmars at Northern Ireland’s largest seabird colony, which never fail to put on a magnificent display: wheeling and whirling, swooping and soaring as they busily carry food to the chicks. Also located here is the famous upside-down lighthouse, the only one in Ireland with the lantern below the tower. As part of your £8 admission to the Seabird Centre, you can also see the rooms of the keepers as they were when the lighthouse was fully operational.
June-August
Corncrakes on Tory Island, Co Donegal
The corncrake, a summer visitor to Ireland, rivals the cuckoo for the distinctiveness of its call. It was once ubiquitous across Ireland, but loss of habitat caused by the intensification of farming means the bird is now confined to Ireland’s west coast and offshore islands. One of the best places to hear the distinctive rasping call of the corncrake is on Tory Island. Here, measures have been put in place to conserve this small, yellow-brown bird with habitat creation measures, including the planting of nettles and oats to provide cover. If you would like to hear the corncrake’s rasping call on a visit to Tory, the best thing to do is walk around the island. If you catch the distinctive creek-creek call from the meadows, don’t disturb it, as it is a shy and nervous bird. Instead, try to observe it from a distance. Since these birds are well camouflaged by their plumage, binoculars will prove useful for this.
September-November
Red deer rutting, Killarney, Co Kerry
Ireland’s only herd of native red deer resides in Killarney National Park. From late September to early November, the park echoes to deep bellowing as the rutting season arrives. This is the time when the stags are filled with testosterone and have a strong desire to mate. Dominant stags assemble a harem of hinds (females), and must then defend them from the advances of other stags. So, each autumn, the Killarney woodlands echo to the sound of clashing antlers, with photographers coming from far and wide to capture the drama. You will most likely hear the stags before you see them, but if you want to get up close with the rut, the Kerry town is an ideal place. You won’t have to hike up the mountains because the stags can generally be seen in Knockreer Estate, which is adjacent to Killarney. Other good places are around Muckross House and on the Old Kenmare Road above Torc Waterfall. Be cautious, however: rutting stags can be aggressive, so keep your distance and observe using binoculars.
October-December
White-fronted geese, Wexford Sloblands
These rare white-fronted geese, which migrate to Ireland each October, mostly winter on the Wexford Sloblands. Similar to the Dutch Polders, this area has been reclaimed from the sea and sees about 5,000 birds arriving each October to find food on what are now rich agricultural lands. While the geese may be observed feeding on the Slobs at any time, evening offers the best spectacle. It is then that large numbers of geese will rise in unison against the evening sky and fly out to spend the night, in relative safety, on the sandbanks in Wexford Harbour. Alternately, if you visit in the early morning, you will see the great flocks returning to the Slobs. An ideal place to observe the geese is at Wexford Wildfowl Reserve, about 3½km northeast of Wexford town, which offers an observation tower and bird hides. Open daily from 9am to 5pm, admission is free.
October-December
Starling murmurations at Lough Ennell, Co Westmeath
This is the time of year when nature mostly relaxes, but not all species do. In winter, the resident population of starlings is augmented when thousands arrive from the Continent to overwinter in Ireland. As evening approaches, the birds gather in the skies near their roost. Before settling down they will often perform an exhilarating aerial dance as, with perfect symmetry, they wheel and whirl, swoop and soar in an exuberant ballet. This is known as a murmuration and, during the winter months, these can occur nearby anywhere the starlings have established a roost. One of the best places to observe a murmuration is from Bloomfield House Hotel on Lough Ennell. Here, the enormous murmurations have been beautifully captured by photographer James Crombie, with his pictures going viral across the globe. Murmurations are, however, a bit like the Northern Lights: there is no guarantee you will see them on a particular evening, but Lough Ennell is the place to maximise your chance.
