Walk of the Week: Bandon

ARRIVING on the riverside pathway, we are immediately removed from the bustle of the town. Here, the Bandon is a broad, slow-flowing river.

Willows and alders line the banks. There are some fine old house on the ridge opposite, above the marshy fields, Our route offers the opportunity of seeing many of the birds of Irish freshwater habitats, with prospects of sighting that most elusive and beautiful of river birds, the kingfisher. Grey herons sometimes fish in the spray at the foot of the weir, and sleek, black cormorants, highly unpopular with anglers, dive and surface in the flow. Below the weir, on the midstream islands left dry at low water, mallard and Blackheaded gulls roost in full view and waterhens, with their bright red, orange-tipped beaks and green legs step daintily about. The dipper, like a large, black wren with a white breast, is sometimes seen. Walking underwater is their special talent, foraging for caddis and small crustaceans. There are otters on the Bandon, but they are rarely seen in daylight hours.

We walk downriver. The weir come into view, the footbridge in the middle distance and the main town bridge beyond. The path ends at a small section of the original town walls. Just before we reach it, a ramp will take us over the mound on the right to the car parks entrance.