Scaragh Wood - Red Trail

Meaning “a shallow ford” or “a rough shrub-overgrown place”, Scaragh Wood is a beautiful, mature, mixed woodland located on the most eastern slopes of the Galtees, just 30 minutes walk from the centre of the town of Cahir. The 56 km Tipperary Heritage Way, a multi-day linear walk between The Vee and Cashel, also skirts its eastern fringes. There are many features from bygone days nearby including: stone walls, earthen banks, shepherd paths, a neolithic portal tomb and some reminders of Cahir’s once prosperous linen industry

Within Scaragh Wood’s boundaries can be found ancient plantations of Irish Oak and our native red squirrel. Until the mid-1960s, the Wood was the epicentre of a whort-picking (also known as bilberries or fraocháns) industry with up to 60 locals working here on any summer’s day. Cahir Estate also ran a sawmill in this Wood that was operated by 3 men, until the early 1960s. It prepared timber for the main sawmill in the town and provided stakes for the Estate farm and fuel for the “Big House” in Cahir Park. Pre-mechanisation, horses and heavy carts were used to move timber from here. The Estate also built a hunting lodge and gamekeeper’s cottage within Scaragh Wood.

There are three walking trails to choose from; Green Trail (3.8km, 1 hour, 20 mins, moderate, green), Blue Trail (4.8km, 1 hour 40 mins, moderate, blue) and the Red Trail (6.2 km, 2 hours 20 mins, strenuous, red).

For more information on Scaragh Wood, visit our website, www.coillte.ie.