Go Walk: Clara Vale in Wicklow is a forest to look up to

Imagine the scene. It is a hot summer’s day. The scent of gorse and honeysuckle fill the air. Having walked as far as the confluence of two rivers you are now reposing beside the gently flowing water, your lips purple from the freshly picked bilberries you have just eaten. Dappled sunlight filters through the trees as you lie back and take in your surroundings.

You are in Clara Vale Forest in Co Wicklow, in one of the few large areas of natural woodland left in Ireland.

Thanks to its protection by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, this lovely forest is not destined for the chop like the commercial forests all over our island. No, this forest is here to stay, so there is no need to rush. No matter which season you choose there will be something of interest to see.

With the melting of the last ice almost 13,000 years ago trees, like pine, oak and elm began to take root all over Ireland and gradually the great forests were born. In the shadow of these huge trees a second layer of vegetation formed, then a third and a fourth. In your typical commercial, dark, evergreen forest this does not happen and this is why Clara Forest is so exciting.

From your supine position you might like to contemplate this fact and see before your very eyes what this means. Looking skywards you will observe the canopy species – the oaks and Scots pines, lords of the forest.

Below them, and perfectly happy with their lot, live the hollies, the birches, willows and hazels.

Enjoying the shelter and support which their taller neighbours provide, honeysuckle, bilberries, wood sorrel, blue bells and many more less common plants form a third layer.

And last but not least at the bottom of the pile, live the lichens and mosses, just waiting to be noticed.

Somewhere nearby birds such as tree-creepers, woodcock, redstarts and buzzards are going about their daily business. With luck you might just catch a glimpse of them. You will certainly hear bird-song and indeed catch glimpses of the bird and bat boxes affixed to the trees as part of the Wildlife Conservation Programme.

As parking space is limited it is as well this forest has at least five entrances and so the walks can be varied according to your point of entry. This walk starts at the picturesque Clara Vale church beside an old stone bridge, which spans the Avonmore river. After heavy rain the river becomes a playground for thrill seeking kayakers.

Leaving the car beside the church, walk steeply uphill and to the left, passing what seems to be an entrance and going on up another bit to the official entrance, with its information boards and wooden fencing.

As is the case with most forest walks you have a number of routes to choose from. The blue path extends in this case for 9.5km and is a good choice as it goes downhill at first, giving your muscles a chance to warm up, but later on rising steadily to give limbs and lungs a good workout. The blue trail exits the forest on a small country road, where you turn left. Wending your way back to the starting point will probably take another 10 minutes or so.