A Westmeath Old Rail Trail Audio Guide

A Westmeath Old Rail Trail Audio Guide

Welcome to Crossword Bog, one of Ireland’s few remaining Active Raised Bogs. This guide will take you on a journey through millennia, introducing sights and sounds from the bog.

The raised bog habitat at Crosswood, (a habitat which is becoming increasingly rare in Ireland) is home to many creatures, including mottled curlews and meadow pipits. It is also a haven for water loving plants, such as spongy sphagnum moss. Known as the ‘bog builder’, this plant has intriguing properties and was used for millennia.

Bogs have existed in Ireland for thousands of years and take hundreds of years to grow. However in the last few centuries, industrial peat harvesting has caused their dramatic decline. Now Crosswood Bog, is actively undergoing rewetting and restoration efforts as part of broader environmental conservation project.

Our guide will explore the long history of the bogs from their formation thousands of years ago to their ever-changing use and the fascinating archaeology preserved within them. We will also explore the bog’s rich biodiversity, and the importance of the living landscape of active raised bog habitat here at Crosswood.

Title: Crosswood Bog – Tales from the Turf

Duration: 42 mins.

Summary:

This audio guide is an Abarta Heritage Produced on behalf of Westmeath County Council, National Roads Office. It was recorded at Bluebird Studios with sound engineer Declan Lonergan and producer Róisín Burke. The script was written by Tara Ó’Faoláin and was edited by Róisín Burke and the narration was by Sharon Mannion.

A special thank you to Westmeath County Council’s Heritage Officer, Melanie McQuade, Biodiversity Officer, Christina Sweeney, Tourism Officer Una Doris and National Roads Office Public Liaison Officer Elva Roe for their assistance throughout the research and production of this guide.

We hope you have enjoyed listening to the story of Crosswood Bog. This is one of four audio guides and books that have been produced for sites along the Old Rail Trail Cycle Way in Co. Westmeath. Other guides and books that are part of this series are: Streamstown Station Audio Guide, Kilcumreragh Audio Guide and Unsilent Stones Audio Book. These can all be accessed for free on our website and podcast channels.

All images used on this page are courtesy of Westmeath County Council.

This audio guide is also available on

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