DerrymoreOak Wood   Derrymore, which is close by the Way, is a remnant of the once-great forests, and Dromore is being managed to replace non-native species with oak and ash. The trees here are mainly oak, which is the primary species of the ancient forests. Oaks may support hundreds of species of invertebrates, up to thirty species of birds and several types of mammal, notably the red squirrel and pine marten, which are rare in Britain and other parts of Ireland but relatively common in Clare.     The leaves, and the thick layers of leaf-litter on the ground, provide a home for a huge number of invertebrates: caterpillars, slugs, beetles and spiders, which live in crevices in the bark or among the decaying leaves. These provide food for birds such as blue tits, great tits, magpies, jays, goldcrests (Europe's smallest bird), warblers, chaffinches, blackcaps and tree creepers. Large and small mammals which feed on invertebrates, small birds and carrion include pygmy shrew, badger, wood mouse, fox and hedgehog as well as red squirrel and pine marten. Plants which grow beneath the trees divide into three categories: woodland edge species such as foxglove, bugle and campion, shade-tolerant species such as yellow pimpernel, wood avens, dog's mercury and sanicle, and specialised plants of deep shade such as mosses and liverworts.

Dromore Wood This wood is under the control of Duchas, the Heritage Service. The wood is comprised of beech, ash, oak and conifers, with plenty of forest edge species such as hazel, sloe, hawthorn, cherry, spindle and elder, making it a very rich habitat with a wide diversity of species. The beeches in the wood were mostly planted in the 1940s, as beech is a valuable wood, and the native oaks and ashes were felled. Now the beeches are being thinned and the oaks and ash are being allowed to regenerate. It is worth obtaining a guide to the wood and taking a detour round the Castle and Rabbit Island trails. In summer many species of butterfly can be seen, including brimstone, peacock, small tortoiseshell, speckled wood and fritillary feeding on the Burren flowers which include St John's wort, bloody cranesbill and carline thistle.

Mooghaun Wood Mooghaun wood provides a variety of different habitats from commercial forestry to hazel scrub. Entering the wood from Newmarket on Fergus the Way passes through an expanse of young beeches interspersed with Scots pine. Beneath the trees can be seen arum lillies, mosses, ferns and tutsan, all plants which survive in a shady environment, along with shrubs such as hawthorn, hazel, holly, box, bramble, ivy and laurel. Because the trees are largely non-native, it is noticeably quieter than among the oak woods, with only the sound of tits to be heard. Along the woodland edge as the walker proceeds there are plenty of primroses, wild strawberries, violets, mint and hart's tongue ferns. Beneath the Norway spruce groves, especially on stumps where the trees have been felled, the walker can see evidence of squirrels and mice in the shape of chewed pine-cones. Deer tracks can be seen in the soft ground. Oxford ragwort, which can be seen in sunny places in the wood, is an invasive plant which has widely colonised Ireland from Britain. Around the Fort itself there is a thick layer of hazel scrub, which provides a home for many species of small birds and mammals.