Crosswood Bog

Crosswood Bog is a raised bog nature reserve and Special Area of Conservation located approximately 5 kilometers east of Athlone in County Westmeath, within the Irish Midlands. Classified as a basin bog and Midland-type raised bog, this wetland is situated mainly in the townlands of Crosswood, Glenaghanvoneen, and Creggan Lower, with its northern boundary defined by the Dublin-Galway railway line. The SAC encompasses the raised bog core along with surrounding areas of cutover bog, conifer plantations, and improved grassland. As one of Ireland's remaining raised bog habitats, Crosswood Bog represents a critically threatened ecosystem type, with less than 1% of the country's original raised bogs surviving in a natural, peat-forming state, giving Ireland special responsibility for protecting this globally rare habitat.