The sign by the waterworks on the Dripsey Cork road says The beautiful Lee Valley. It invites people to partake in its beauty and the scenery and to be inspired. At this point, the viewer can stop and overlook from a height Inniscarra Reservoir. Many times I have stopped at the sign and admired and photographed the sunsets on the way home from fieldwork. In my own opinion, I feel this viewing area is an important site in the Lee valley for the explorer. From a geographical point of view, you get to see the bigger picture of the Lee Valley.

The road R618 provides a corridor into the heart of Inniscarra. The road has become my weekly rite of passage into the heart of the region. From our viewing point, it is easy to admire the Lee to be drawn in by water. Looking at Inniscarra Reservoir from a distance is easy on the eye. The picture of the countryside rolls back along towards the Millstreet area. On closer inspection, one can see the effects of the Lee Hydro Electric Scheme. In particular, one can view the field systems on the south bank of Inniscarra Reservoir in Walshestown and Castleinch and see the edges of fields disappearing into the reservoir. It is like the area's geography and history are being eroded over time by the lapping waters just like the memories of the place and the tide of time.

At this part of the valley, the explorer is quite open to Ireland's dynamic weather systems. I have always been intrigued by the changing atmosphere of the place. During the spring months, I have encountered the cold fogs descending on the reservoir and shrouding the water in mystery. On sunny summer days, the blue skies present the water flows at a slow and hypnotic pace. The presentation also presents a stillness and the tranquil flow of the water reminds me of all those ongoing memories, I have encountered within the valley.

The autumn has brought me shorter days and a chance to see those marvellous sunsets. The winter has brought me the openness of the valley, its darkness and rough textures as the wind attacked my bike and forced me to completely concentrate on the road and not admire the passing view. The smoothness of those balmy sunny evenings is replaced by a roughness of the waters. The natural heritage here is very much alive and has a dynamic and vibrant pulse. At all these various times, I have had different feelings for this place. Well being blown off the road by a wind down the valley is bad but contrasting are there are those sunsets, which as a 'town mouse' I rarely get to see because of the city's dense canvas of buildings.

At our viewing platform, we also get a bird's eye view of Faha House, which nestles itself alongside the reservoir. The home of the Burke family, John Burke on my visit warmly invited me to his house to hear his family history and to hear even more of the cultural heritage of the area. John has two sisters, Elaine and Sr. Teresa and one brother Colm who for many years was Cork City Councillor and now is now an MEP for Ireland South. In terms of a site biography for Faha House, John informs me that is said that Hugh O'Donnell, Earl of Tyrone crossed the river at a green field site on his way to Kinsale in the early seventeenth century. The site was a lowest crossing point over the Lee.