As a bit of a change, we felt like driving up the other end of the county for a stroll around Derrycassan woods. This is a state forestry establish on the grounds of the ruins of the seat of Dopping-Hempingstalls. It is a nice amenity forest with plenty of trails and circular walks varying from about 3 to 6km or so. We took the longer option.

It is quite a mature forest mostly pretty much all conifer but it makes for pleasant walking and there are plenty of well-made gravel tracks.

This is the remains of a boathouse from the old estate. The main house was demolished in the 1930s for building materials after it was bought by a timber merchant. All that remains now are some concrete remains of the boathouse and an unusual curved section of the garden wall. As the whole site is quite hilly, the walled garden was constructed to follow the contours rather than the usual rectangular arrangement.

One of the remaining entrances into the garden is remarkable well-preserved. I always think it looks for forlorn in the middle of the woods.

This was a pleasant dry and non-mucky walk and we managed 6km.

77km