 When we were deciding to move house, one of the many criteria we stipulated was that it must have trees! What we wanted of course, was our own woodland, but who could be so lucky? Having an affinity to water I also wanted to be close to a water source. Well we found both at Bunnaglanna. Our woods at Pooh corner are not quite the hundred acres that Cristopher Robin had to play in, ours are one acre but they lead down to the river Bunnaglanna from whence the area gets it's name. The woods are quite old and completely private, the only access to them being from the bottom of our 1.5 acre field. The trees are mainly birch and hawthorn although we also have oaks, ash, elders, alders, rowans, hollys in fact, most varieties of deciduous trees. Because the woodland has been left to it's own devices, it is entirely natural and completley unspoilt. Our job is to make woodland walkways through it that blend in naturally and allow us to walk down to the river rather than roll down head over heels.
 The Bunnaglanna river is the one that runs through our woods and flows into the the river Bride and from there to the river Blackwater. It is supposed to be a trout spawning river- though I haven't seen any sign yet. There is a thriving angling club 1/2 mile away on the Bride so I think it must be true. Being in the foothills of the Nagle mountains, the water flows down from the hills at a tremendous rate when it rains even a small bit. The river can rise about two feet in a few minutes and you think you could white water raft it (in a small raft). Just as quickly the level will fall and the water will clear up again as the water flows away quickly to the Blackwater.
 Where my son is standing is where the freshwater spring comes out of the ground and trickles into the Bunnaglana. It used to be the only source of water for the house and the last owner can remember her grandmother carrying the water up the hill from the spring "Bride well" every morning. Unfortunatley, the ground has collapsed around the old well and the spring now bubbles out of the ground in various places rather than one good source. The tip of the slabs of rock he is standing on are huge in size, some being 15 ft in length and 2 ft thick. They are testimont to the power of "our little river". and believe you me, I wouldn't like to fall in when it's raining. |
