Earlier this week, on a gloriously sunny day, we travelled to Masshill Forest. First, we stopped off at Mass Rock and before doing any exploration, Martina, our guide for the day, showed us how to make a little 8-page booklet in which we could record interesting bits about our day. Then we headed up to view Mass Rock where we learned about Ireland during the time of the Penal Laws when the practice of the Catholic Faith was forbidden and when priests were hunted and put to death. We even found a little underground hole where priests used to hide to avoid being caught. Mass is still held at this sacred spot in addition to a ceremony on Good Friday when a wooden cross is carried by the people to a point beside the Mass Rock with the 14 Stations of the Cross recited as they walk along. Next, Martina pointed out a large metamorphic rock on the site which contains quartz, schist and granite. She also spoke about the Ox Mountains and how they were formed. Martina then showed us lots of different trees and shrubs in the Mass Rock area and in the hedgerows and forest further up the road, including birch, mountain ash, holly, hawthorn, larch, beech, willow, alder, poplar, sycamore, oak, horse-chestnut, gorse, etc. We also noted many of the plants and flowers which were growing on the ground and on the forest floor, including meadowsweet, vetch, plantain, butterwort, bluebells, ferns, and wood sorrel which we thoroughly enjoyed tasting. To add further to our experience, Martina led us on a trek up the mountain where we stopped en route for a picnic, and on a separate trail where we viewed an abandoned house with lots of trees growing in its environs, including ash (which was free of the ash dieback fungus disease which is presently destroying many of our ash trees), copper beech and horse chestnut. We really enjoyed this field trip and learning lots about the various plants which grow in our local natural environment.
