Lough Boora Discovery Park is home to many kinds of birds and fauna, fish-filled lakes, and a permanent display of enormous outdoor sculptures, having been transformed from its previous incarnation as a commercial bog where peat was collected to heat houses across the country. These sculptures, which were built from ancient industrial items from the bog, such as locomotives, rail-line, and lumber, give the park an otherworldly air.
Depending on the season, the park is always changing. Birds migrate, breed, and raise their young. While the resident creatures go about their daily lives, plants bloom and fungus appears and vanish. As you jump on your bike and pedal through the wide-open expanses of Lough Boora bog and sculpture park, leave all signs of city life behind. Keep an eye out for fast-moving hares zipping across the trails as you bike past, and don’t forget to stop at one of the numerous bird hides for a closer look at your feathered friends. In this 2,000-hectare cutaway bog, which is now a nature lover’s dream, there are also four lakes. In Offaly’s own vast sky wildness, you’ll feel as free as a bird.
The elevated bogs of Ireland’s Midlands developed approximately 15,000 years ago, following the last Ice Age. Mesolithic people roamed Ireland, and Lough Boora is one of the most important Mesolithic sites in the country. In 1977, two sites were unearthed. Following the Mesolithic Route will lead you to the ancient settlement’s location.
Outdoor enthusiasts, expert botanists, environment lovers, and arts and culture admirers will enjoy Lough Boora Discovery Park’s offerings.
