As you look below to the rolling plains of north Co Wexford, you can see the village of Ferns, the ancient capital of Leinster. You can pick out the church spire and nearby, what remains of the Norman castle, once the home of the infamous Diarmuid MacMurrough and his main Norman colleague, Strongbow.

Geographically you are standing in Co Wexford but geologically Sliabh Bhuí is the terminus of the Wicklow Mountains seen to the north from various vantage points along this trail.

Sliabh Bhuí’s trees cover some 1,507 acres. The first planting took place in the winter of 1935 on the northern slopes of Ballybeg, behind where this post is situated. Forty men were employed clearing and digging water courses, turning the sods and planting the trees and indeed trapping the glut of rabbits which ravaged the young trees. The men earned the princely sum of £1-6s.-8d. for a five and a half day, forty-hour week. Their foreman had a half crown extra for his post of responsibility. They all worked under a forester who had been university trained and was an acknowledged expert in silviculture.

Sitka spruce accounted for 65% of the planting; Norway spruce for 20%; Japanese larch for 10%; Douglas fir for 4% with beech, sycamore and birch making up the remainder. The woods passed from direct Departmental control to Coillte, a new semi-state body, in 1989.

The village of Askamore, under the foothills of Sliabh Bhuí was once the centre of a huge strawberry-growing area, with its shop cum post-office being a depot for collection of the fruit before it was sent on to Chivers’ factory in Enniscorthy, further south, for jam-making.

The shop, along with the strawberry depot are alas no more, and the local church is the main feature of the local area. An original church was built probably towards the end of the 18^th century, on the relaxation of the Penal Laws and was burnt in 1799, in the aftermath of the 1798 rebellion. The present church, dedicated to St. Brigid, was built in 1804. There is a handsome but not famous stained-glass window, dating from 1932, in the gallery. The outdoor bell structure was also erected in 1932 but is no longer in use.

Askamore Community Centre provides a focus to the village and is the starting point for a local Heritage Trail, with information on interesting people and places locally. It is a 15 km driving trail, starting from the Centre and signposted throughout. Again, please visit if you have the time. There is further information on the trail and on the local area in general on www.askamore.com.