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Description
Location: Ashlamaduff, near Garvagh, North Sperrin Mountains, Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland
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I went for a 9 mile hike up in these hills last year. It's quite a lonely forgotten place and very difficult to trudge through the heather and moss but the scenes and vast wilderness is worth it.

I googled this place today and read of a proposed 20 turbine wind farm which for me would completely ruin the ecological, historical and scenic value of the area. The local community association is in favour of the project. But hey maybe I'm a romantacist so what does it matter. I go to these places to seek wilderness and experience an area that is allowed to exist without constant human tampering. I have a passion for my local landscape and have spent a lot of time pouring over maps and Satellite images and I've realised that this area is one of the most expansive & intact areas of blanket bog left in Northern Ireland so it would be a shame for it to be overrun by conifer forest plantations and other hugely destructive projects. There is already a young conifer plantation nearby and creating more vehicular access into these areas will no doubt lead to more instrusions. I can deal with turbines but the damage caused by conifer plantations is too much. The area in question lies just outside the Sperrin Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty so I guess there are fewer planning restrictions. The higher bogs will probably be relatively unaffected but for me this is an important upland-lowland interface area. My argument isn't so solid, I know. It's more of a personal thing I have about living so close to this untouched wilderness area.

Description
Location: Ashlamaduff, near Garvagh, North Sperrin Mountains, Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland
_________
I went for a 9 mile hike up in these hills last year. It's quite a lonely forgotten place and very difficult to trudge through the heather and moss but the scenes and vast wilderness is worth it.

I googled this place today and read of a proposed 20 turbine wind farm which for me would completely ruin the ecological, historical and scenic value of the area. The local community association is in favour of the project. But hey maybe I'm a romantacist so what does it matter. I go to these places to seek wilderness and experience an area that is allowed to exist without constant human tampering. I have a passion for my local landscape and have spent a lot of time pouring over maps and Satellite images and I've realised that this area is one of the most expansive & intact areas of blanket bog left in Northern Ireland so it would be a shame for it to be overrun by conifer forest plantations and other hugely destructive projects. There is already a young conifer plantation nearby and creating more vehicular access into these areas will no doubt lead to more instrusions. I can deal with turbines but the damage caused by conifer plantations is too much. The area in question lies just outside the Sperrin Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty so I guess there are fewer planning restrictions. The higher bogs will probably be relatively unaffected but for me this is an important upland-lowland interface area. My argument isn't so solid, I know. It's more of a personal thing I have about living so close to this untouched wilderness area.