Tag: Hike

Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail Walking Festival 2020

Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail Walking Festival takes place this year from 13th-15th March 2020. The entry is €20 a day or €50 over the 3 days. It is a great opportunity to see the amazing scenery of Mayo. Starting points are:

10th March – Car park across from Ballintubber Abbey

11th March – Aughagower Community Centre

15th March – Murrish Carpark (Base of Croagh Patrick)

Full details below and find out more at http://www.croaghpatrickheritagetrail.com or email info@croaghpatrickheritagetrail.com

Also take a look at our post on Croagh Patrick itself here.

Day 1: Friday 13th March 2020 17km

0830 hrs sharp Meeting Point at car park across from Ballintubber Abbey. Transport provided to starting point.

0900 hrs Registration Balla Community Centre. Tea/Coffee Refreshments provided.
0930 hrs Commence Walk from Balla to Ballintubber (17km)
Refreshment stop – Clogher Community Centre – Tea / Coffee sandwiches provided.
1500 to 1700 hrs Finish Day 1 in Ballintubber.

Day 2: Saturday 14th March 2020 27km
0830 hrs sharp Meeting Point at Aghagower Community Centre. Transport to starting point.
0900 hrs Registration at Aghagower Community Centre before walkers take a free bus to Ballintubber to start the walk. Tea/Coffee Refreshments provided.
0930 hrs Commence Walk from Ballintubber to Aghagower (27km)
Refreshment Stop – Killawalla -Tea / Coffee sandwiches provided.
1600 to 1800 hrs Arrive at Aghagower Village.

Day 3: Sunday 15th March 2020 19km
0830 hrs sharp Meeting Point in Murrisk – Car park at the base of Croagh Patrick. Transport to starting point.
0900 hrs Registration Aghagower Community Centre. Tea/Coffee Refreshments provided.
0930 hrs Commence Walk from Aghagower to Murrisk (19 km)
Refreshment Stop – Brackloon – Tea / Coffee sandwiches provided
1600 to 1800 hrs Arrive at Murrisk.

Benbulben Forest Walk

The Benbulben (or Benbulbin) forest walk is a great way to get up close views of the majestic Benbulben. The walk is about 5.5km around the base of the mountain and takes about an hour and a half to complete. For more details on this forest walk, check out https://sligowalks.ie/walks/benbulbin-gortarowey-looped-walk/

The Offaly Way

The Offaly Way is a linear route linking the Slieve Bloom Way, (at Cadamstown) to Lemanaghan Monastic Site, and to the Grand Canal Way. Only 37kms long, it nonetheless includes areas of mountain and riverside as well as long stretches of bogland. Though the highest point is only 140m, much of the Way commands wide views over a comparatively flat landscape. The route has ecclesiastical and prehistoric interest.

20181109_230044.jpg

The Way starts in Cadamstown, with the Slieve Bloom Way less than 2 km away. Just north of here is an interesting geological formation where a fine outcrop of rock has been exposed by erosion caused by the Silver River. The waterfalls and gorge along here are most attractive features. The Way crosses the Black River and ascends Knock Hill, at 140m the highest point on the Way, before descending into Ballyboy. Here the Way crosses the Silver River and runs along its bank into the town of Kilcormac. The town holds the Kilcormac Pietà, a 16th century representation of the Virgin Mary mourning over the body of Christ. For 60 years, during a time of persecution, the pieta was hidden in a bog.

20181109_230329.jpgBeyond Kilcormac, the Way enters Boora Bog, an area of peatland formerly harvested for turf. Now a wide variety of uses, including amenity use, are being encouraged. Nearby is Lough Boora, formerly a lake and now a fen and nature reserve. This area is of great historical interest since excavations have revealed Mesolithic remains. Close to the end of the present phase of the Way at the Grand Canal is Turraun Nature Reserve, formerly a cutaway bog and now an area where more than 80 species of birds and 150 species of plants have been recorded. The birds include a flock of 200 Whopper Swans.

Thanks to Killian O’ Brien from Offaly County Council for sharing this info.

Please check out http://www.visitoffaly.ie/ for more great things to do in Offaly!

 

visit-offaly-tullamore

Weekly Walks in the Slieve Bloom Mountains

Weekly Walks in the Slieve Bloom Mountains

The Slieve Bloom Mountains are a mountain range in the midlands of Ireland that span through Offaly and Laois. The highest point is a modest 527M but the scale of the mountains are extensive. The mountain range is bordered by towns such as Clonaslee, Mountrath, Roscrea, Rosenallis, Clonaslee, Cadamstown Kinnitty and Mountmellick. The Slieve Bloom mountains are amongst the oldest in Europe and once they stood at 3700M before weathering and erosion reduced them to the current size of 527M.

The walking trails range from looped walks, long distance way-marked walks or unguided walks but don’t forget a map and compass if you are not going as part of a group! Organized walks are held every week by the Slieve Bloom Mountains Walking Group and it’s a great way to learn the full mountain history from the local experienced guides. A full list of the walks can be found at the following link.

Untitled

Please refer to calendar for full list of walks
Peter Maher | Rural Recreation Officer ✆ 085 1742217 petermaher@laoispartnership.ie

For more information, check out http://www.slievebloom.ie/cms/walking/looped-walks/

Bray Strand & Bray Head – Drone Photos

More great photos from Anthony Kelly (Instagram @miamikelly30), this time of Bray Head and the stand.

If you get a chance to pop out to Bray, take a walk along the strand or a short hike up Bray Head.  There is also a great cliff-walk from Bray to Greystones, check out a previous post on this here bray-to-greystones-cliffwalk

DJI_0005DCIM100MEDIADJI_0017.JPGDJI_0013DJI_0012/

River Dodder Walk: Morton’s to Knocklyon

The river Dodder is 26km long and passes Dublin suburbs of Tallaght and then Firhouse, travels through Rathfarnham, Templeogue, Rathgar, Milltown, Clonskeagh, Donnybrook, and Ballsbridge, and enters the Liffey near Ringsend, along with the Grand Canal, at Grand Canal Dock.

As it goes through these area, there are a range of walkways and green areas to enjoy.

This post focuses on a short but very enjoyable 2km walk from Mortons in Firhouse to Knocklyon. The track is in good condition and is suitable for buggies.

dodder - Mortons to Knocklyon Rd

To the west of this section, the walkway also feeds into the River Dodder Linear Park.

While already an enjoyable place to walk through, this area has huge potential and many groups like Dodder Action and Knocklyon Network are pushing to get the local councils to invest is this great amenity to maximise its potential for the local communities.

20170429_09572520170429_09554720170429_10074520170429_100115

 

 

Marlay Park

Marlay Park is a 121 hectares (300 acres) suburban public park located in Rathfarnham in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. Lying about nine kilometers (5.5 miles) from Dublin city center, the parkland comprises woodlands, ponds and walks. Marlay Park is the official starting point of the 132 km Wicklow Way a long-distance walking trail, that begins at the car park adjacent to Marlay House. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlay_Park).

20161217_142959

Along with the great walks, there are plenty of facilities and activities in the park such as:

464298_10150647024471261_105355230_oScreen-Shot-2015-08-03-at-15.55.09wpid-2014-12-13-17-21-27-jpg2

The Phoenix Park

The Phoenix Park is an urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying 2–4 km west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its 11 km perimeter wall encloses 707 hectares (1,750 acres)it is also one of the largest enclosed recreational spaces within any European capital city (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Park).

The park provides the public with a variety of walks and loops around this amazing green area. The park is home to a herd of wild fallow deer which can often be seen, especially near the Papal Cross (which was erected in 1979 for the visit of Pope John Paul II).

Along with the availability of a large green area to walk, run and cycle the park also contains:

  • Áras an Uachtaráin
  • Visitors Center
  • Dublin Zoo
  • Magazine Fort
  • Headquarters of the Garda Síochána
  • Official residence of the United States Ambassador to Ireland

Parking is available on Chesterfield Avenue and a number of other locations in the park. 

For more information go to http://www.phoenixpark.ie/

phoenix-parkDeer_by_papal_cross20131117_15224720131117_152202

Great Western Greenway (Westport to Achill)

This 42km Greenway from Westport to Achill (through Newport and Mulranny) offers a fantastic way to enjoy the Mayo countryside. This walk or cycle gives you the chance to enjoy amazing views of Clew Bay and the track is very well maintained (http://www.greenway.ie/index.html).trail

While we concentrate on walking and hiking at takeahike.ie, cycling is also highly recommended and bikes can be rented from a number of companies such as Clew Bay Bike Hire. The great thing is if you are based in Westport, they will shuttlebus you to Achill and you can cycle from Achill back to Westport (http://www.clewbaybikehire.ie/bikes/bike-packages/).

greenway-achill-to-westport-10greenway-achill-to-westport-6greenway-achill-to-westport-16greenway-achill-to-westport-11greenway-achill-to-westport-4greenway-achill-to-westport-12013-1