On Saturday, 10th November 2018 some 23 ramblers spent a very pleasant day in Gosford Forest Park, Co Armagh. The walkers followed way-marked trails through extensive parkland laid out in the 19th century to display trees and shrubs from many different parts of the world. Progress was gentle as folk stopped to read labels on giant conifers and enjoy sunlight streaming through the branches onto a colourful carpet of fallen leaves. A herd of red deer which included a number of magnificent stags gazed peacefully in the deer enclosure, seemingly not bothered by people passing by and taking photographs. At the centre of the park is Gosford Castle, a 19th-century country house built for the 2nd Earl of Gosford, and designed in the Norman revival style by London architect Thomas Hopper. It is a Grade A listed building, and is said to be Ulster’s largest. The Earls of Gosford occupied the castle until 1921, and the estate was later purchased by the Ministry of Agriculture to form Gosford Forest Park. The building subsequently deteriorated and in 2006 was sold to a development company who converted the castle into private dwellings.
