Overview
Time your visit for late April or the first week of May and Clare Glen does the one thing it does better than anywhere else in County Armagh: the floor of the wood between the hazels turns solid blue. The bluebells come with wood anemone, the fragrant sprawl of wild garlic, and a few native orchids in the damper hollows. This is a 55-acre broadleaf glen on the banks of the River Cusher, a mile out of Tandragee, and it costs nothing to walk. Come in July and it is a pleasant riverside wood with good birdlife; come at the tail end of April and it is worth planning a day around.
The name gives away the oldest feature. ‘Clare’ comes from the Irish An Clár, ‘the plank bridge’, a crossing over the Cusher long predating any of the stone bridges you will walk over today.
Walking the trails
Three colour-coded, waymarked routes run through the glen, and you can mix and match them into a circuit. One is easy; two are not.
- River Trail (1.1 miles): The one to do if you want a level walk or you are pushing a buggy or wheelchair. It is flat, gravel-surfaced, and hugs the western bank of the Cusher, with the best chance of seeing the river’s birdlife.
- Bluebell Trail (1 mile): Follows the wooded slopes and, as the name promises, gives the best bluebell viewing in season. Steep in places, uneven, not for wheels. Sturdy footwear after rain.
- Glen View Trail (1.1 miles): Runs the eastern side of the glen for an elevated view down over the valley and river. Steep gradients, best for confident walkers.
- Circular route (2.2 miles): Linking Glen View with either of the other two makes a full loop. One caveat here: the wooden footbridge over the Cusher at the centre of the glen is closed after structural damage, which breaks the circuit at that crossing – check locally before you count on completing a loop.
Two pretty stone bridges cross the Cusher lower down, one a miniature of the other, and they hold up regardless of the footbridge’s state.
Wildlife and woodland
The seasonal show runs from late April through early May. Outside the flower window, the river is the draw. The Cusher runs clear enough to support kingfishers, dippers working the stones, grey wagtails, and herons standing sentry on the bank; otters turn up occasionally for the patient and the early. The coppiced understorey shelters small mammals and woodland birds, so it rewards a slow, quiet walk more than a brisk one. Fishing is permitted along the river.
Coppicing and the shape of the wood
The multistemmed look of the hazel, ash and wych elm is not accidental. For centuries the wood was coppiced – cut back near the ground to throw up new shoots – for timber and fuel. That cutting kept the canopy open and the light coming through, which is exactly the condition the spring wildflowers need. The bluebell carpet you come for is, in a sense, a leftover of an old working landscape.
Practical information and getting there
- Entry: Free, with no gates or seasonal closures on the paths; sections may be restricted after storms or during maintenance.
- Parking: There are free car parks at both ends of the glen – the Tandragee (western) end and the Clare (eastern) end. The western car park is small and fills fast on a fine spring weekend, so the eastern end can be the easier arrival.
- Toilets: There are none for day visitors. The caravan park inside the glen has facilities but is only open to booked guests; the nearest public toilets are reported to be about 4 miles away. Go before you come.
- Getting there by car: From Tandragee, take the Markethill Road (B3) for about a mile; the glen is on your left. (Older directions naming a ‘Bypass Road’ off the A28 are wrong.)
- What to pack: Shoes with grip for the steep trails, especially after rain, and binoculars if you want a fair chance at the kingfishers. Dogs are welcome on leads – keep them off nesting birds through the spring.
Nearby
- Gosford Forest Park – Larger trail network, a visitor centre and open grassland, good for a family day.
- Armagh County Museum – In Armagh city, covering the region’s archaeology, industry and natural history.
- Carrigatuke Viewpoint – A short drive for a panorama over the Armagh drumlins.
Go on a weekday morning in the last week of April: the light comes low through the canopy, the car park is empty, and the blue is at its best.