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17 September 2014
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Woodlands | Castlewellan Arboretum

Champion conifers

Castlewellan grounds (Image c/o Northern Ireland Forest Service)

Castlewellan is an area of outstanding natural beauty located in the foothills of the Mountains of Mourne in Northern Ireland.

Its huge forest park covers 460 hectares and is a magnet for wildlife including Red Squirrels, Pine Martens and Otters.

Outstanding natural beauty in Northern Ireland.


One of Castlewellan's most distinctive features is its mile long lake - keep your eyes peeled for birds such as Little Grebes, Cormorants, Mallards and Mandarin Ducks.

This is a great place to explore in winter which is a good time to visit its 'woodland within a forest'.

Hedges and trees

Castlwellan (Image c/o Northern Ireland Forest Service)Castlewellan is also home to the national Arboretum of Northern Ireland, a collection of trees and plants started by the Victorians who obsessively scoured the globe for exotic specimens.

The Arboretum boasts one of the greatest collections of trees in Europe including stunning examples from Asia, the Americas and Australasia.

The great thing about coming to a place like Castlewellan in winter is that while our native northern hemisphere trees are looking a bit threadbare, those from the southern hemisphere are literally blooming.

Although trees have been brought to Castlewellan from around the world, they are already being colonised by some native UK species such as lichens.

For example, the Japanese Maple is a popular host for native lichens, whilst beech trees from New Zealand have been attacked by British Honey Fungus, which resembles stringy black boot laces.

Castlewellan is also home to the world's biggest continuous hedge - the Peace Maze.

Opened in 2001, it is made up of 6,000 Yew trees planted by the people of Northern Ireland.

The estate has another botanic claim to fame - the gardeners here developed the Castlewellan Leylandii, the fast-growing, controversial hedge which has led to many hedge wars across the UK.

Giant Redwoods

Castlewellan Lake (Image c/o Northern Ireland National Forest Service)  One tree stands head and shoulders above the rest at Castlewellan - the Giant Sequoia or Redwood from the United States of America which was added to the ornamental gardens in the 1850s.

These are the world's largest trees in terms of volume, growing to an average of 250 feet tall and 29 feet in width.

Despite their size, these trees have small pine cones, and are also characterised by bark resembling shag pile carpet which is ideal for protecting the trees from fire.

The tree also provides an unlikely home for a British bird - the Treecreeper - which has ingeniously spotted an opportunity to burrow into the Redwood's bark to make its nest.

Over time the bird makes several holes around the same tree trunk so that it has a choice of sheltered roosts, whatever the direction of the wind or rain.

Look out for tell tale burrowing holes and streaks of white bird droppings on the trees!

Champion conifers

Conifers (Image c/o Northern Ireland Forest Service)Another great sight in winter is Castlewellan's champion conifers, of which there are 19 varieties, including the colourful Scots Pine.

Look out for a rare variety of this tree called the Golden Scots Pine which changes colour in winter, turning a beautiful burnished shade.

When the spring comes, the tree reverts back to the normal grey-green colour that we associate with the Scots Pine.

Within the woodland there are also great opportunities to hear Robins, one of the few birds to sing in winter.

This small bird becomes particularly territorial in winter as it searches for scarce food resources.

Credits

Photographs by kind permission of Forest Service Northern Ireland.

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