13: BSW1 A microcosm of Ireland

Speaker: Alec ReidFrom 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.