Access at Lough Dan

Wailin

Not sure if this is the appropriate forum.

Went to go for a hike this morning to Lough Dan from the Pier Gates but was stopped by security guy at gate who denied me access stating private property. Filming for Vikings (I presume) seems to be getting under way so I guess this was the reason. But as I drove on past Lough Tay I noticed a lot of new "Trespassers will be prosecuted" signs along the roadside, including the popular view point over Lough Tay where tour buses often stop for photo opportunities.

Anyone know what's going on here? I know the lake and surrounding land is private property but surely these new signs just off the R759 are not legal and can't stop people viewing the lake using the parking spots along the road?

Alun

Access to Lough Dan from the Pier Gates is often blocked if they're filming. It's only temporary though.

The signs that appeared recently is another thing entirely, and there's an article on mountaineering.ie about it.

https://www.mountaineering.ie/aboutus/news/2018/?id=171

It's still not entirely clear from that article what the original motivation was to erect those signs in the first place though. Maybe there were Vikings tourists trying to get further into the estate from the parking spots, I don't know.

Wailin

Thanks for the link Alun. It looks bleak then for walkers I guess unless the land is purchased by the state, which I don't see happening. A new owner will most certainly not be as generous to the public either as previous owner. Such a pity, it's a beautiful area and deserves to be viewed and access should continue as it was.

Alun

The thing is though that I can't see many prospective buyers being that interested in both the house and it's immediate grounds and the rest of the estate. The land probably isn't worth that much in the grand scheme of things, much less than the house and grounds, so splitting it up into two lots seems a sensible thing to do and would allow the state to pick up the land for a reasonable amount.

Wailin

Yep, hopefully that's how it pans out.