Lough Neagh@Oxford Island
Oxford Island is a peninsula on the south-east shore of Lough Neagh. The nature reserve supports a wide range of habitats including wet meadows, reedbeds, woodlands and shoreline scrub, all of which are typical of the lake shore. Sheltered bays provide a refuge for large numbers of wintering wildfowl, especially diving ducks that can be seen from birdwatching hides overlooking the lough. Whooper and Bewick's swans can usually be found grazing on neighbouring fields.
Displaying Great-Crested Grebes, duckling broods and many other wetland birds can be seen in the spring and summer while the natural grasslands of Kinnego meadows are alive with the colour of flowers and butterflies. Five miles of footpath pass through these grasslands and also take you to woodlands, ponds and the lough shore.
The Lough Neagh Discovery Centre tells the story of the Lough's history and wildlife through audio-visual presentations, computers and interactive games. These have been designed to challenge and inform visitors on aspects of the lough's ecology and management in an entertaining way.
Facilities include an interpretive Centre, Loughside cafe, craft centre and shop, footpaths and bird-watching hides.
The cache is a magnetic nano, which seems to migrate often! On three occasions when I came for a maintenance check I had great difficulty finding my own cache because it had moved so far. Please replace it exactly where you find it, and make sure it is a place that matches the hint. It is NOT in the water no matter what the map would suggest! There is a path all the way to the cache, but be very careful of children near the water. While the path to the cache may be suitable for wheelchairs, retrieving the cache may be difficult for wheelchair users.
Please note - in winter ( October to Easter ) the park closes at 5:00pm.