SW: Glengarriff Woods; Riverwalk, tested out for wheelchair access.

Sarah, Elana and I went to check out the Riverwalk in Glengarriff Woods, last week, checking out the wheelchair access for you, the readers of Wildlife and Birding On Wheels.


From the picnic area on the left, set in a large clearing, we followed the sign, pictured above. (and Sarah)
Almost immediately there was a path on your right-hand side, but we kept going until a little footbridge. Wide and strong enough to let me and wheels pass,


(with Sarah dreaming over the river)

Soon I stopped and enjoyed the view over the river, and thus far I had been able to follow the path, here and there avoiding the roots, sticking up from the ground.


Here we also spotted the strange growth around the Birch tree, which I posted yesterday

The next bend in the path, was looking ominously at me,

and I was not sure if I would make it over those embedded stones on the left side of the path.
As you can probably see, the uneven-ness of those stones mean that your wheels hobble so much that you do not only risk your back, but also the life of your wheels. Especially when you are using power wheels, like I am. My wheels are having to endure a lot of bumps already on these Irish roads, and I cannot risk getting stuck somewhere or at home. I'd chance it on a scooter, I think.

The other problem we had, was that even if I did go past this bend; how would I get back? There was no room to turn, neither here nor further on the path, which got very narrow. On the return these stones would get my wheel embedded, for sure.
(and believe me, I've done some crazy paths, (including one the day before, again with Sarah, and Elana. And Sean, also. )
So instead we turned back to the picnic spot, to eat our picnic salads. As the girls did so, we spotted a late Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta, and took a dozen or so pictures.




This WoodSorrel, Oxalis acetosella, looked rather sweet, when I'd left the girls feeding on greens.


Note: The National Parks and Wildlife Service, who manages the reserve, has just raised the level of the speedramps.
These are very high for cars as well as wheelchairs. Be careful and go slow!


Also: The quality of the thumnails are not as these used to be; I'm trying out to work with Photobucket thumnails.
Bear with me, I'm still trying to nail these thumbs, and things may go wrong now and then!

My assesment on Riverwalk; unsitable from where I turned around. It is however a wonderful place to go and have a picnic, and enter the woods just a bit, and feel the atmosphere. You can then go for a drive through the area of the reserve and beyond.