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| County Longford |
County Longford is one of the Irish counties of the Midlands. It lies in the Shannon basin and the upper catchment area of the River Erne. This is essentially a rural county, famous for its fishing and its farmlands. From the point of view of scenery, this is not the most interesting county in Ireland: its fields are relatively flat and it doesn't have a lot of attractions to catch people's attention. However, one of them, the Old Bog Road, is definitely worth a detour. Here are a few photos taken in the area of this site, at Corlea. Discover at once some illustrated examples of sites to visit or activities to do in County Longford. |
| 1. Admire an oak sculpture near Corlea... [    ] Just beside the entrance of the visitor centre, you can see a statue made from oak, most likely preserved for centuries in the neighbouring bog lands. |
| 2. Enter Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre... [ ] The centre presents an Iron Age bog road that was built in the year 148 B.C. across the bog lands of Longford, close to the River Shannon. The oak road, estimated at 1km long, is the largest of its kind to have been uncovered in Europe. It was excavated by Professor Barry Raftery of University College Dublin. Two questions remain at the end of the visit: why was this road built and who did it? |
| 3. Admire the trackway... [ ]
Inside the interpretative centre, an 18 m stretch of the preserved trackway is on permanent display in a room containing humidificators, specially designed to preserve the ancient wooden structure. Bord na Móna and the OPW have carried out conservation work on the surrounding bog to ensure that it remains wet and that the buried road remains preserved. See below (photo #5) |
| 4. Go outside the centre... [ ] In order to preserve the 80 surviving metres of the Corlea trackway, the water table in the bog was raised by building a wall using plastic sheeting inserted vertically around it. |
| 5. Observe the artificial lakes... [ ] Four artificial lakes were built to insure a high water table. These conservation efforts raised the bog’s moisture content to the original 95%. The photo on the right-hand side shows some of those artificial lakes. |
| 6. Go to Ballymahon... [ ] The small town of Ballymahon, located at the border of County Westmeath, is not really interesting in terms of architecture. From Inny Park, you will find a path of around 500/600 m on the bank of the River Inny. It's a pity that the "adventure" stops abruptly, because with some smart development, this could be an enjoyable walking path. Shortly after leaving the town, you'll be able to go for a stroll by the Royal Canal, which continues for several kilometres. |
7. Picnic at Lanesborough... [ ] Around 10 km from Ballymahon, you'll reach Lanesborough, at the border with County Roscommon. Indeed just cross the bridge and you'll be there! Lanesborough is not bad at all if you wish to picnic by the river or go fishing. The town is located, on the River Shannon at the northern entrance to Lough Ree. You'll also be able to see a power plant (generating electricity from turf), whose appearance is striking on the flat landscape of County Longford. |
| County Longford in pictures | ||
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 Photo 2. Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre. |
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 Photo 3. Corlea trackway from inside. |
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 Photo 4. Corlea trackway from outside. |
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 Photo 5. Artificial lakes of Corlea. |
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 Photo 6. River Inny near Ballymahon. |
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 Photo 7. Power plant of Lanesborough. |
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Legend:
Nice; Worth a visit; Well worth visiting
Please note that this grading system is only based on my interests and personal experience as a French expat in Ireland. Feel free to visit the same locations and share your experience 
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Free or Not Applicable 
Entrance fee ≤€5 ; €5<Entrance fee≤€10 ; €10<Entrance fee≤€15 and so on...
These price ranges are indicative only to help you plan your holiday budget and are subject to change. Discounts generally apply for families, groups, children, students and seniors citizens.
While the admission to this site is free, a parking fee may apply.
Heritage Site managed by the Office of Public Works. Most OPW sites are free of charge on the first Wednesday of every month during 2011. A Good tip: the Heritage Card entitles you unlimited admission for one year to all OPW sites (around €21).