Farran is a small Park that has a lot to offer in terms of activities and features. It has a diverse mixture of tree and shrub species that make it attractive all year round for visiting. It’s location on the southern shore of Inniscarra lake offer fantastic views of the reservoir and the many rowers at every level who train here, from amateur to Olympian. The lake or reservoir was created in the mid-1950’s by flooding agricultural lands to store water for the nearby Inniscarra hydroelectric generating station.
The Park is a mere fragment of the vast Farran estate that was owned by a Captain Clarke who was involved in the tobacco industry. The demesne passed onto Captain Mathews who converted some of the pasture land to forest. Being a keen sportsman, the Captain planted some carefully sited clumps of broom, laurel and rhododendron to provide cover for game birds as well as planting conifers and broadleaves and creating the lake and hunting lodge. I distinctly remember coming here as a child and the hunting lodge exhibited a number of taxidermied creatures. You can't access the hunting lodge anymore. The deer are partial to a few carrots in Winter time.
ENTRY is 5EURO.
NO MORE COINS!
A NEW CASHLESS PAYMENT SYSTEM HAS BEEN INTRODUCED AT THIS CAR PARK
PAYMENT CAN NOW BE MADE BY CREDIT & DEBIT CARD
OR
ANY AP BASED PAYMENT SYSTEM
Annual passes are still valid and used in the normal way.
New annual passes can be purchased on www.coillte.ie
ENJOY YOUR VISIT
08.00 – 21.00 (April to September)
08.00 – 17.30 (October to March)
There is 2 trails. Toilets. Playground, Picnic tables and a great little coffee truck called Perked up coffee.
Also Zip it zip wire course which is quite fun to watch with smallies.
The cache is located between the 2 trails. So which ever one you pick will lead you to the cache eventually. This is the first cache in a potential farran series.
The area is maintained by the National Forestry Comission Coillte and the cache is placed in line with their "Leave No Trace" principle