Your Itinerary:
Day 1: Hiking/walking distance 3 miles. Drive from Dublin up to Ballycastle in Co. Antrim. The Antrim Coast has been designated an "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty". After dinner, a short walk will take us down around the coast at Ballintoy and to Carrick-a-Rede: a tiny island with a salmon fishery, joined to the mainland by a rope bridge, and back up via the harbor of Ballintoy. We will be accommodated at the Fullerton Arms in Ballintoy for the next two nights. There should be some excellent traditional music in the Carrick-a-Rede pub tonight.
Day 2: Hiking/walking distance 8 miles. On the agenda today is a spectacular walk starting from White Park Bay on the Antrim coast and finishing at the Giants Causeway. On a clear day you will be able to see right across to Scotland. The Causeway is made up of 37,000 black basalt columns, mostly hexagonal. It is the result of a massive underground explosion some sixty million years ago. In 1693 the Royal Geographical Society publicized it as one of the great wonders of the natural world. Sarah, your guide, will take you on this walk and entertain you with history, culture and folklore.
Day 3: Hiking/walking distance 5 miles. We now must move on into the west to County Donegal: our base for the next two nights is the Carrig Rua Hotel in the village of Dunfanaghy, in the Gaeltacht (Gaelic-speaking region). Hopefully we shall find some excellent traditional music here. We will stop en route at Glenveagh National Park for a walk, which begins in the lonely wilderness of the mountains and finishes alongside the beautiful Lough Beagh and Glenveagh Castle gardens. A visit to Donegal is like a trip back in time: hay is still stacked by hand, and most farms only yield enough produce for one family. Beautiful day-walks and spectacular sunsets are promised along the rugged Donegal coastline.
Day 4: Hiking/walking distance 7 miles. Setting out on foot from the hotel, our walk today will be at the Horn Head Peninsula. The walk will bring us through woods, along a spectacular beach (bring your swimming costume), coastal tracks, with views of an arch in the sea. We will also have time to visit the Poor House museum in Dunfanaghy.
Day 5: Hiking/walking distance 8 miles. This morning we will head south to County Sligo, but on our way we stop to walk near Dunlewy Lough and the Poisoned Glen, in Donegal. This is a magnificent walk through the hills and forests of Donegal in the shadows of mighty Mount Errigal. You will be guided by John McGroary, a local expert guide. Tonight we will stay at the Drumcliff in County Sligo.
Day 6: Hiking/walking distance 6 miles. After visiting Drumcliff Church and the grave of W.B. Yeats we will head south past Sligo Town to walk at Knocknarea Mountain overlooking a magnificent bay and the original Coney Island. Tonight we will stay at Kilmena on the shores of Clew Bay on the outskirts of Westport Town, County Mayo. Our guest house is located on the sea shore and after dinner we can venture out to one of the islands via a causeway accessible at low tide.
Day 7: Hiking/walking distance 6 miles. From Galway City, we will head south to the Burren Region of County Clare - a huge plateau of limestone and shale aptly summed up with the words, "savage land, yielding neither water enough to drown a man, nor a tree to hang him, nor soil enough to bury him". Our walk today is at the highest point in the Burren: Slieve Elva. We will be rewarded with great views across Galway Bay to the Aran Islands. For the next two nights we will be accommodated in the Kincora Guest House in Lisdoonvarna. After dinner, we can venture into the village in search of traditional music in the pubs.
Day 8: Hiking/walking distance 10 miles (option of just 5 miles instead). Today we will be accompanied by our local expert guide. He will take us to sites of botanical, geological and archaeological interest. This will include walking in two separate parts of the Burren with a break for lunch. The Burren regions is famous for it's flora: you will never see anything like the carpets of primroses, or the white flower of the blackthorn cascading over all the hedgerows. Rare and spectacular plants occur in abundance. Nowhere else in Ireland, Britain or even north west Europe can such quantities of the blue Spring Gentian, cream Mountain Avens or yellow Shrubby Cinquefoil be encountered. At the end of the afternoon we may have time for a pint in County Clare's oldest pub.
Day 9: Hiking/walking distance 5 miles. The Cliffs of Moher: one of Ireland's most visited sights will be the location of our walk, but fear not, leaving the bustling car park behind, we can enjoy relative solitude walking along the cliffs to Hag's Head. Leaving County Clare, we will drive south to County Kerry via the Killimer to Tarbert ferry across the Shannon. For the next three nights we will stay in the heart of Dingle Town.
Day 10: Hiking/walking distance 9 miles. A lovely walk is on today's agenda: at Beenbo Mountain and the spectacular green valley of Magha na Bo. Enjoy the peace and tranquility of this valley and witness 40 shades of green! We then cross over the top of the pass and drop down to Annascaul village via Lake Annascaul.
Day 11: Hiking/walking distance 6 miles. We travel today to the western side of the Brandon Ridge to walk at Ballydavid Head, for one of the best walks on the Dingle Peninsula. We climb gently through moorland grass to reach a fine vantage point with expansive views of the surrounding hills, fields, mountains, sea and cliffs. This area could be described as a "photographer's paradise". We will take our time to take pictures, relax, and enjoy the views. We will then return to Dingle for an excellent meal and a review of the day's activity.
Day 12: Hiking/walking distance 8 miles. Today we will walk at Inch Beach (the setting for the film, Ryan's Daughter). We begin with views across to Glenbeigh and Ireland's highest mountains, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, then on rounding the peninsula we have views back towards the Dingle Peninsula and the Slieve Mish Mountains. Look out for rabbits and lots of estuary birds. We move on then to the Gougane Barra region of County Cork. Our accommodation is the Gougane Barra Hotel: we stay here for 2 nights. This is a stunning location on the shores of a lake in a deep valley.
Day 13: Hiking/walking distance 8 miles. Wake up to peace and tranquility and fine lake views. Catherine, our local guide today will take us on a circuit of Gougane Barra Lake and the source of the River Lee. We will be able to walk directly from the hotel. If you prefer a more restful day then this is the ideal spot to enjoy the quiet tracks beside the lake and forest.
Day 14: Hiking/walking distance 2 miles. Cahir in County Tipperary: the town is dominated by a 13th century castle, one of the largest in Ireland. After taking a tour of the castle, there may be time to walk along the banks of the River Suir. We will be accommodated in the town of Cashel for our last night. Highly recommended entertainment tonight comes in the form of music and dance "Riverdance" style at the Bru Boru Centre.
Day 15: We must say Goodbye to Ireland after our 2 hour drive back to Dublin Airport.
Tour Dates 2010:
- Thur 17 June to Thu 1 July
- Sun 25 July to Sun 8 Aug
- Sun 8 Aug to Sun 22 Aug
- Sat 4 Sept to Sat 18 Sept
Member discount:
10% discount for InfoHub customer. Request a free gift certificate.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price Includes:
- Dublin Airport pick-up and drop-off
- 14 nights 3-4 star accommodation (en suite)
- All land transport
- 14 guided walks
- Escort of full-time guide
- Escort of local guides
- Evening transportation to pubs/music
- Entrance to Glenveagh National Park
- 14 breakfasts
- 14 packed lunches
- 11 evening meals
- Free transfers to and from Dublin Airport.
Tour Dates 2010:
- Thur 17 June to Thu 1 July
- Sun 25 July to Sun 8 Aug
- Sun 8 Aug to Sun 22 Aug
- Sat 4 Sept to Sat 18 Sept
Also see tour packages in:
Europe
Ireland
Outdoor: Land Rambler
Hiking & Trekking
Walking Tours
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