Lough Key, Forest Park, Boyle, Roscommon

When my kids were small, I would bring them to the Forest Park. We would bring the dogs with us, and go for long walks in the park.

There were so many places that seemed so magical, to the kids, and indeed, to me as well. We had the big stone wishing chairs and the farie bridge, the Ice house and the tunnels. There is this big, big tree where you can walk into, and it is magic. The tree must be 3 or 4 hundred years old, if not older. There are long walks along the lake and of course you can see the Castle from the shore. In the summer time we would go there to have a picnic. We would go to the bog gardens to see all the different coloured flowers.

In the winter time, we would go walking around the lake and watch the swans dance in the lake.

In later years when the kids were gone, I would take the dogs and most of the time, I had the place to myself. It was heaven to be able sit on one of the seats, let the dogs go for a swim, and just relax in nature.

Now, it is a very busy place, winter and summer. There are zip lines, adventure rooms, game rooms, boats for hire, over head bridge walks, and people come from all over to spend time here. The video just shows you a little of what it is like. This clip was taken in Oct 2014 on one of the tours.