Plans to create two beautiful nature walks in Birr

There are plans to create two beautiful nature walks in Birr.

Both walks will be lengthy and will be a great boon to the lives of local people, providing two fantastic amenities.

The first walk will be along the banks of river Camcor from Elmgrove Bridge out to Springfield Bridge on the Birr / Kinnitty road. The second will be from Birr out to the Killaun Bog Boardwalk a few miles away.

A recent meeting of Birr Municipal District was told that a lack of adequate parking is something of a problem at the popular Killaun Bog Boardwalk (which is located just off the Birr / Kinnitty road.
 The Birr MD meeting was told by Offaly Heritage Officer Amanda Pedlow that since the boardwalk through the bog was upgraded in 2021 more people have been visiting it, but they can only park on the edge of a narrow road. She added that the publication of John Feehan's book “When the Nightjar Returns” last November had added to the walk's popularity.
She said there's now an exciting proposal to significantly extend a walking route from the bog, through Coillte land, back towards Birr.
Cllr John Carroll said he likes this idea of creating a walk all the way from the bog back into Birr. “There might be no need to create parking in Killaun,” he said. “People could park in Birr.” He said the Boardwalk has been a big success, and is seeing a lot of foot traffic.
The meeting was told that Daithi de Forge of Coillte, along with St Brendan's Community School are involved in the Greater Killaun Project.
The first boardwalk in Killaun involved St Brendan's CS and was opened by President Mary Robinson in November 1991.
The Greater Killaun Project is spearheaded by St Brendan's Community School, and grew out of the earlier Killaun Reserve initiative of thirty years ago.
The Greater Killaun Project is the ambition to see the bog as a whole conserved and managed in the long term as a place where people can go to experience an area of truly remarkable biodiversity.

  Amanda said she recently walked the Camcor River route from Elmgrove to Springfield and it's very beautiful. 

  She said that during the days of the British Empire, soldiers billeted in Crinkill barracks would follow a route out to Killaun Bog for shooting practice. She said it's proposed to follow this old military route when creating the walk from Birr to the bog.

  She added that John Feehan is busy at the moment, writing a book about the Camcor and Little Brosna Rivers.