Along with a new carpark there are now over 5 km of paths through the scenic Liffey Valley and a 2km cycle track. It is one of the first publicly accessible parts of the river Liffey outside of the city. It is also the most valuable park in South Dublin County in terms of its ecological diversity with over 300 species of plants, animals and birds. This diversity is particularly important given the parks urbanised setting. Waterstown Park also has areas of national and international importance as it lies within the area covered by the Liffey Valley Special Amenity Area Order and part of it is covered by a proposed Natural Heritage Area designation.
Over the past number of years several developments have taken place to make the park accessible to the public. The network of paths and cycle tracks allow greater access into the Liffey Valley and along the banks of the Liffey. The new car park was built as a shared facility with Stewards Hospital providing mutual benefits to users of both facilities. The Parks Department now have a temporary work compound in the park which has greatly improved the security and maintenance in the park. Much of the development which has taken place has been based on the recommendations of an ecological study which was carried out here between 2005 and 2007. The study was carried out to establish what wildlife existed and how the park should be developed in a way that would preserve the parks special characteristics, while allowing public access.
A: N53 21.497 W 006 22.218 In the car park what is the number on the lamppost
B: N53 21.513 W 006 22.208 On the notice about the wildlife how many of the pictured birds are park residents
C: N53 21.602 W 006 22.546 From this point look south up to the house and count the number of chimney pots per set, this is not the total of the two sets
D: N53 21.729 W 006 22.780 Whilst on the bridge count the number of flat horizontal bars on one of the sides
E: N53 21.732 W 006 22.608 What is the number on the electricity pole
F: N53 21.735 W 006 22.256 Look north across the river and count the number of small glass panels per window section that opens on the house
G: N53 21.701 W 006 22.010 From this point look north across the river, how many pillars are above the steps up to road on opposite bank. From this point you should also be able to see Farmleigh Bridge to the east.
H: N53 21.667 W 006 22.075 How many triangular post caps are there.
Cache is hidden at
N 53 21.(F-B) H (D-G) W 006 22.A (D-A-B-G) (E-C+G)
The route is all along the paths but the cache is hidden in one of the wooded areas
BYOP
Total distance of circular route from car park back to car-park is approx 1.5 km
Congratulations to the trio of Silver Soldier, the swerve and gaffer gamgee on their joint FTF, their feedback has been very helpful in eliminating any ambiguity in the information gathering on the route.