Lodge Bog Boardwalk Guide

Welcome to Lodge Bog in the Bog of Allen.

Lodge Bog is the only remaining intact part of Lullymore Bog in Co. Kildare. It is 28ha in size. Lullymore bog was the largest single raised bog within the Bog of Allen. Due to its size and relative proximity to Dublin, Lullymore Bog was one of the earliest bogs to be drained and used for industrial peat extraction.

Lodge Bog lies beside Lullymore, a small mineral soil island just 2.5 km across within the Bog of Allen. It is known as an island as it is surrounded on all sides by bogland.

As you look out across the living surface of Lodge bog you can see both the chocolate brown landscape formed through industrial peat extraction to your left and behind you, the green farmland of Lullymore Island on your right and the Hill of Allen with its chimney in the distance ahead of you. On a clear day you can see the Church Spire at Allen to the left of the Hill of Allen.

Wild Flowers of Lodge Bog

A bog surface is not flat. It has drier sections that are called hummocks and wetter sections called hollows. Water gathers in the hollows and they are then known as bog pools. Different plants have adapted to live in the wet and dry areas. On Lodge Bog 150 different plants are found including mosses, heathers, sedges and lichens. As you walk along the boardwalk you can see two areas enclosed. These are examples of wet and dry bog.Looking at the dry section you see that Heather is dominant with Feather Moss and Bearded Lichen common. Heather has narrow waxy leaves to help it survive the dry, hot conditions at its roots. These small leaves help to reduce the amount of water evaporating from them.

Looking at the wet section you see that the common plants here are Sedges and Sphagnum Moss. Sedges such as Many Headed Bog Cotton have air spaces in their roots which allow them to breathe in the waterlogged conditions. Sphagnum Moss is called the bog builder. It can hold twenty times its own weight in water and grows upwards giving the landscape the raised appearance. It can grow as much as 12cm in one year. Round Leaved Sundew is one of the carnivorous plants found on Lodge Bog. You will find it growing along the edges of the bog pools and drains. Carnivorous plants have adapted to the nutrient poor peatland by trapping insects with their leaves and releasing digestive chemicals to digest the insects allowing the plant to absorb the nutrients from the insect's body.

Lichens grow on the drier hummocks of the bog forming tiny gardens.

Wild Animals of Lodge Bog

Lodge bog is a home or habitat to 186 different birds, mammals and insects. There are 47 different species of spider alone found on Lodge bog. Hypsosinga albovittata was discovered on Lodge Bog for the first time in Ireland. It is a member of the family of Orb Web Spiders.

The Mountain Hare and Fox are residents of Lodge bog. Looking out over the bog you may not see them but signs to look out for would be their droppings. The Fox always places its droppings on an elevated spot so that the scent can be passed in the wind to mark it's territory. Hare droppings are straw coloured balls with lots of remains of sedges.

59 moths and 13 butterflies are found on Lodge Bog. Sometimes you find the silk pupal cases of the Emperor Moth in the Heather. The bog pools and drains are home to many of the nymphal stages of the dragonfly of which there are 10 species. Birds found on the bog include Meadow Pipit, Common Snipe and Skylark. It is not always possible to see these birds but if you take a moment and listen while on the boardwalk you will hear many of them. In Spring it's lovely to hear the cry of the Curlew on Lodge Bog.

Skylarks are seen and heard on the bog during summer.

Damage to Lodge Bog

Lodge bog was donated to the Irish Peatland Conservation Council by Bord na Móna in 2005. Through the years Lodge bog has been used regularly for school visits and training programmes. Each footstep on the bog surface takes three years to disappear. As a result trampling damage can be seen as you enter onto the boardwalk. The visible effects of visitor trampling include peat compaction, drying of peat and a change in vegetation communities with a loss of Sphagnum Moss and Heather and a dominance of bare peat and deer sedge.

As you look out over the Boardwalk you can clearly see the chocolate brown colour of the commercially developed peatland. Peatlands are waterlogged habitats and as a result it is necessary to drain the peatland for large excavating machinery to remove the peat. Drains have been opened along the boundaries of Lodge Bog. The bog along the drains has significantly dried out resulting in the loss of Sphagnum Moss and the
enlargement of the Heather bushes.

Green Hairstreak butterflies are difficult to see because they blend in so well with the vegetation on the bog.

Conserving and Protecting Lodge Bog

The Irish Peatland Conservation Council have prepared a conservation plan for Lodge Bog. The objective of the plan is to enhance and maintain Lodge Bog so that it is a fully functioning, self-regulating raised bog ecosystem.

In 2005 the IPCC constructed a boardwalk on Lodge bog to help reduce the impact of visitor trampling on the site. The boardwalk is 95m long and 1.5m wide. It is made from tannalised spruce timber. It is a floating structure, held 40cm over the bog surface by a series of supporting uprights.

In 2006 the IPCC took action to raise the water level of Lodge Bog. To do this the IPCC blocked 2,200m (50%) of the drains with recycled plastic lumbar. By doing this it is expected that the cover of Sphagnum moss -the bog building plant will, increase. This is vital if Lodge Bog is to have a long-term chance of survival. An example of a dam can be found on the road-side of the boardwalk by the wet square. An example of a plastic dam can be seen between the board walk and the road.

Many Headed Bog Cotton grows in the wetter parts of Lodge Bog. In summer you can see its white fluffy seed heads. In autumn and winter the leaves turn red giving the bog a lovely colour.

How to Find Lodge Bog

From N4 Dublin via the Galway Road
Take the Maynooth/Naas/Straffan exit from the N4. At the roundabout take the R406 to Naas/Clane. Turn right at Barberstown Castle crossroads and
follow the R403 to Clane. Continue on the R403 into the centre of Clane, turning off for Prosperous and Allenwood at the Corner Pub. Drive through Allenwood and take the R414 (Rathangan Road, left turn) which is approximately 1km from Allenwood over the Shee Bridge on the Grand Canal. Lodge Bog is located 4km from this on the left hand side of the road.

From the South
Turn off the N7 in Monasterevin following the R414 to Rathangan. In Rathangan continue on the R414 (Allenwood road) to Lullymore. Lodge Bog is approximately 5km on the right hand side of the road at a sharp bend just past the Bog of Allen Nature Centre.

Map showing the Location of Lodge Bog

Project Sponsors

This project was funded by Vodafone and Conservation Volunteers Ireland, the Heritage Council under the Biodiversity Fund 2006, the Patagonia Fund of Tides Foundation and the Adobe Fund at the Community Foundation for Ireland.

Bog of Allen Nature Centre
Irish Peatland Conservation Council,
Lullymore, Rathangan, Co. Kildare
Tel 045-860133 Fax 045-860148
e-mail: bogs@ipcc.ie
web-site: www.ipcc.ie

Irish Peatland Conservation Council Registered Charity Number CHY6829