Inchydoney Beach is a beautiful blue flag beach just 10 minutes from Clonakilty Town in Cork. Inchydoney itself is a small island, long connected to the mainland by two causeways.
This is a lovely beach to take a short walk on, anytime of the year. As the beach is quite sandy, it would not be very buggy friendly for a walk.
The Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa (link) also overlooks the beach, so this is a great option for a walk for its residences.
There is a car park a short walk from the beach ( location shown below).
Laois walks festival commenced on Sunday the 1st of July with a walk around the picturesque Derryounce Lakes and bogland in Portarlington. Now in its 17th year, the festival offers the opportunity for walkers to experience all that Laois has to offer with 27 guided walks throughout the county with varying difficulty during the month of July. The festival offers walks that are designed to encourage you to get out and explore the countryside and the Slieve Bloom Mountains. The scenic walks are varied; through woodland, over pastoral lands and along country laneways. For those who are interested in completing a pilgrim passport or a Camino challenge. The month of July will give you a total of 249 Kms of excitement and scenery walking in Co Laois.
Laois Walks Festival Co-Ordinator Susan Lawlor “the festival offers something for everyone” according to Susan.
This festival could not happen without the goodwill and support of several private and state landowners, including Coillte, National Parks and Wildlife Services, Office of Public Works, and Inland Waterways, who provide access to the walkways”, said Susan. “I would also like to acknowledge the support we receive from Laois Partnership Company, Laois Sports Partnership and Laois County Council, which is key to organising such a successful festival”, she continued.
The Festival provides an opportunity to explore some of Laois’s stunning views and countryside in the company of local guides. This year’s packed programme features walks for all abilities, from the enthusiastic well-equipped walker who relishes the challenge on the Slieve Bloom Mountains to the gentle rambler who is out to enjoy a pleasant guided walk. So, whatever type of a walker you are, come to Laois this July where you are assured of a wonderfully warm welcome at our festival.
Further Information:
Copies of festival itinerary €2 per walk or €25 festival tickets, Registration takes place half an hour prior to each walk.
Laois Walks Festival 2018 , please contact:
Laois Partnership on 057 8661900. You can also keep up to date on our Facebook page www.fb.com/laoiswalksfestival or on (www.laoispartnership.ie)
Dominic Hartnett Group Leader, Susan Lawlor Festival Co-Ordinator ✆ 087 2574477 Laois Partnership ✆ 057 866 1900 info@laoispartnership.iewww.laoispartnership.ie/laois-walks-festival Peter Maher | Rural Recreation Officer ✆ 085 1742217 petermaher@laoispartnership.ie
The National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, Dublin is a brilliant place to visit. It is free to enter the gardens and is a great place to go for a walk.
The gardens were founded in 1795 by the Dublin Society (later the Royal Dublin Society) and are today in State ownership through the Office of Public Works. They hold 20,000 living plants and many millions of dried plant specimens. There are several architecturally notable greenhouses (from wiki).
The gardens have a cafe and restaurant on site and plenty to see. Here are some photos from a recent trip.
By the way, it is right next to the Glasnevin Cemetery so you could always combine the two for a days visit!
There is a carpark on site but it can get busy at peak times. Location below.
Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail Walking Festival takes place this year from 9th-11th March. The entry is €20 a day or €50 over the 3 days. It is a great opportunity to see the amazing scenery of Mayo. Walks start each day at 8:30am sharp. Starting points are:
9th March – Corleys Pub Ballintubber
10th March – Aughagower Village
11th March – Murrish Carpark (Base of Croagh Patrick)
The Connemara National Park is 2,957 hectares of scenic mountains, expanses of bogs, heaths, grasslands and woodlands. It has a visitor’s centre located in Letterfrack and from this center you can easily do a number of walking trails of Diamond Hill. This allows you to enjoy the scenery of part of this fantastic national park. Not all the trails are buggy-friendly so ask at the centre.
Along with the Diamond Hill trails, the visitor’s centre also has a children’s playground, picnic areas and a tea room. It is also only about 10 minutes drive from Kylemore Abbey, another fantastic place to visit.
The Waterford Greenway (or Déise Greenway) opened in March of 2017 and offers 46km of off-road cycling and walking trails from Waterford City to Dungarvan.
While we concentrate on walking and hiking at takeahike.ie, cycling the greenway is highly recommended and bikes can be rented from a number of companies such as:
Bushy Park is a large park in Terenure, Dublin that stretches to the borders of Rathfarnham and Templeogue. The wooded area to the south of the park is particularly beautiful with the River Dodder running alongside it. The park is a great place to take a walk and has a children’s playground and a duck pond.
Merrion Square is a great green space in the centre of the city. The Georgian square is surrounded on three sides by Georgian redbrick houses along with the Natural History Museum and the National Gallery of Ireland (both are free to enter).
It contains the National Memorial to members of the Defence Forces who died in the Service of the State. There are also some sculptures such as the Joker’s Chair in memory Dermot Morgan.
There is also a playground in the square and every Sunday the Open-Air Art Gallery is held on the external railings of the square (www.merrionart.com).
Some photos below. Check it out for yourself some day.
This is another great park to enjoy in Dublin. Cabinteely Park has great facilities. There is a decent sized car park, playground, coffee shop and plenty of space for walks. The park is close to Cornelscourt off the N11 or if you take exit 15 on the M50.
Cabinteely Park Car Park https://maps.google.com/?cid=9240937456546682405&hl=en&gl=ie
Cabinteely Park Car Park https://maps.google.com/?cid=9240937456546682405&hl=en&gl=ie