Stage 1
What is now referred to as Jacob's Island was once owned by the Crawford family. William, who co-founded the brewing firm Beamish & Crawford, arrived to Cork from Scotland in 1792. Their house was called Lakeland and the estate grounds or Demesne was renowned for its gardens. Members of the Crawford family were keen gardeners, collecting countless exotic trees and plants from locations all over the world, including Himalayan and Andean specimens, such as magnolias, rhododendrons and cordylins. A number of the original trees remain today including Maples, Limes, Oaks and Beeches. The house was demolished years ago with extensive cellars remaining that have since been closed up. The Crawford family is now extinct in Cork but their legacy continues in the form of the Crawford Art Gallery.
Stop and take note of the tall radio mast to the right of your route. This is one of the few Medium Wave transmitters operating in Ireland. It was established around 1970 to provide an improved RTE signal in Cork City and to allow for a local version of RTE Radio One to be broadcast for a few hours each day.
Question 1 - How many stay wires (guys) support the mast. Answer = A
Continue on the road to a roundabout N 51° 52' 55.71" W 8° 23' 44.43" go southwards, third exit.
Stage 2
This is a ruined building from the days of the Lakeland estate. Possibly an outhouse or a coach house it is one of the few remnants of the estate. Circle the building to find an information sign with some history.
Question 2 The earliest mapping of this building is 18? where ?=B
Take some time to look and enjoy the big old trees here. Put your back up against one of the old trunks, close your eyes and listen to the birds.
Moving on, take the pathway to the Park's main entrance at the water's edge.
Stage 3
You have just walked through a section of Joe McHugh Park which consists of 18 acres of public space. Joe was a former city manager who was instrumental in driving the Mahon Peninsula development.
Question 3 On what date in September was Bertie Ahern here? Answer = C
Before you move on, walk onto the Ring Mahon Walkway. This is a hugely popular amenity that is enjoyed by walkers, joggers, dog walkers, cyclists and rollerbladers of all ages. If you look around you, you will notice further traces from bygone years. Directly across from this point you will see the apartment block of Harty's Quay that took its name from the original quay that was built there and appears on Ordnance Survey maps. If you look closely you can see the old walls of the quay. To the East you will notice Hop Island jutting out into Lough Mahon with the ruins of a tower at its tip.
Stage 4
Continue on slowly westwards, keeping a close eye on the stone wall that bounds the walkway. You will come across a limestone milestone incorporated into the wall. These were used as precursors to our signposts today. Used to indicate to travelers the distances between towns and village.
Question 4 - What numeral is carved on the stone? Answer = D
From an ecological perspective, this area is part of the Cork Harbour SPA or Special Protection Area. This means that the habitat here is protected under EU Law for endangered and migratory birds. Cork Harbour is a large, sheltered bay system, with several river estuaries including this one with the River Douglas. The intertidal mud flats support a range of macro-invertebrates or insects that are an important source of food. Birds that are often spotted here include; Cormorant, Grey Heron, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Curlew, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Common Tern. If we want these birds to survive, we must ensure that there are enough suitable areas for all them to breed and to flourish. Put that in your pipe and smoke it! (:
Continue along the pathway, checking the detail of the Radio Mast. Pause at;
Stage 5
This is a memorial stone to a young boy, James Keenan who died tragically in the River.
Question 5. At what age did James die? Answer = E
From here you have good view across the Douglas river to the impressive metal railway bridge or viaduct. This formed part of the Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway. The route of the railway was from Cork City to Blackrock, through cuttings and over embankments to Rochestown and onto the quays in Passage West. It was largely built during the famine years. The line operated between 1850 to 1932 before the popularity of the motor vehicle forced the line to close.
Otter scats or excrements are found in the vicinity of the lake at the northern side of the causeway.
Continue on the walkway/causeway, turning right onto the old railway track.
Stage 6
You are now on the footbridge overpass of the N40 dual carriage way. The N40 is the Southern Ring Road around Cork City that links the East to the West of the county. It runs from the Dunkettle interchange through the Jack Lynch Tunnel, that was opened in 1999, to the Junction 1 at N22 Poulavone to Tralee. The N40 road is part of the E30 European route that runs from Cork to Moscow and onto Omsk with a total length of 5800km, one of the longest European routes.
From this point, look eastwards in the direction of Eastbound traffic and Jack Lynch tunnel. Take note of the Monkey Puzzle Tree at the edge of motorway - this is one of the legacy trees of the Lakelands estate and marks the location close to the Lakeland house. To the west you get views of Mahon Golf Course and a building on the edge of the water that was once a boathouse.
Question 6. How many round vertical bars in each panel of the side railing? Answer = G
Computing to get the co-ordinates for the last stop and Geocache.
51°52'59.52"N 8°24'15.78"W
The co-ordinates of the cache are in the usual format N 51 52.9 J W008 24.2 K
Where J = 2C+E+G K=A+B+D
Avoid the vicinity of the cache after dusk lest undesirables and Muggles be present.
Navigate back to the start of the route the same way you arrived.