A walk through Downhill Forest will allow you to view over 30 different types of conifers, over 20 species of deciduous broadleaved trees, and one of Ireland's oldest and fattest Sitka spruce. There is also an Early Christian Promontary Fort at the far corner of Dungannon Hill, and and a disused water powered sawmill with its lade running round the small lake in the middle of this woodland. The lake was originally designed as a fishpond, it is now home to a number of mallard ducks and moorhens. Both the waymarked walks pass by this elongated pond.
Part of Downhill Forest is linked into a province-wide cycling network running from the Mussenden Road down through mixed woodlands to the Burrenmore Road, the Ulster Way runs through the forest too. The North West Orienteering Club has also created a permanent orienteering course in the forest, which is in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
There are two waymarked paths in the forest. One, the 'Pond Trail' is just over a kilometre long while the other, the 'Mill Trail' is two kilometres in length.
(Above: NI Forest Service)
The cache is a small tab top box in a camo bag hidden just off the Pond Trail at one end of the elongated pond where a mass of water lilies blooms in summer and a flotilla of resident mallard often streams toward visitors in search of tidbits, hence the cache's title. It contains a log book, pencil and a few small swaps. The hiding place has been investigated thoroughly by myself and the two geo hounds and is NOT an animal hole. It is meant to be child friendly so please when replacing do not make it too difficult for the next cacher to find. Any logged finds without a corresponding signature on the log will be deleted.