Connemara
The river loop at Ballynahinch before breakfast. Diamond Hill before the buses. The road home through fog. Connemara walks the way the country actually behaves.
StayBallynahinch Castle
A new edition
The Walking Ireland Edit
Not the hikes. The walks worth building a stay around.
Deborah Nunez, Editor
An editorial introduction
We did not move to Ireland for the hikes. We stayed for the walks.
This edition is not a route directory. It is the walks we return to: the path behind the hotel, the road that catches the light, the half hour after rain that the rest of the world misses.
Read it before the trip. Bring it with you. Use it to decide which hotels are actually worth booking, and which mornings to leave entirely unscheduled.
Route philosophy
Five rules we walk by.
- 01Walk slowly. The Irish landscape rewards an unhurried pace far more than distance.
- 02Walk for weather, not against it. Mist, rain and wind are not obstacles. They are the point.
- 03Walk from the hotel door. Choose the room for the country that begins outside it.
- 04Walk before lunch, before dinner, before bed. Short walks repeated will outlast one long route.
- 05Bring a coat you trust. Leave the gear at home.
Regional highlights
Four Irelands to walk.
The Burren
Limestone that reads weather like paper. The path behind Gregans at dusk. Black Head into Atlantic light. A walk that needs nothing more than attention.
StayGregans Castle Hotel
Kerry
Slea Head in salt wind. The Old Kenmare Road through the oaks. Derrynane after rain. Walks that earn the long Kerry lunch that follows.
StayPark Hotel Kenmare
Wicklow
Glendalough after the showers stop. The grounds at Powerscourt before dinner. Wicklow walked the way Dublin people walk it: slowly, and on the right Wednesday.
StayPowerscourt Hotel
The hotel anchors
The walks begin at the door.
- Ballynahinch Castle, Connemara
- Gregans Castle, the Burren
- Park Hotel Kenmare, Kerry
- Sheen Falls Lodge, Kerry
- Ashford Castle, Mayo
- Ballyfin Demesne, Laois
- Powerscourt Hotel, Wicklow
- Adare Manor, Limerick
- Cashel Palace, Tipperary
From the Notebook
Fragments from walks already taken.
Achill Island, Mayo
“The road climbs and the sea opens like a curtain. You stop the car. You always stop the car.”
Connemara
“The trees lose their edges. The river is still there, audible. The hotel arrives gently, lit from within.”
Co. Clare
“Limestone goes from white to lilac to grey in a quarter hour. You do not need to walk far. You need to walk slowly.”
Co. Kerry
“Brown bread, butter, Atlantic prawns. The walk is in the appetite.”
The walking collection
Every walk in this edition.
The path behind Gregans Castle at duskThe Burren · Co. ClareReadSlea Head in Atlantic windDingle Peninsula · Co. KerryReadWicklow silence after rainGlendalough · Co. WicklowReadThe first ten minutes above Keem BayAchill Island · Co. MayoReadWalking back to Ballynahinch in fogConnemara · Co. GalwayReadDiamond Hill before the busesConnemara National Park · Co. GalwayReadThe Burren when the weather changesThe Burren · Co. ClareReadThe cliff path near DoolinCliffs of Moher coast · Co. ClareReadOld Kenmare Road from Sheen FallsKillarney National Park · Co. KerryReadThe Ashford lakeshore at dawnLough Corrib · Mayo / Galway borderReadWalks before dinner at PowerscourtWicklow · Co. WicklowReadHowth cliff loop on a clear morningDublin · Co. DublinRead
Walk slowly. Bring a coat. Choose the hotel for the country at its door.