Hikes in Ireland by County

Family Friendly Hikes & Activities in Ireland

We have compiled a list of all our Ireland Hikes by County. We hope to keep the list updated with family-friendly walks, activities, and Irish holiday ideas. Throughout our family adventures, we had some pretty epic road trips and discovered unbelievable Irish gems.

• Hikes

• Family Activities

• Food Recommendations

Antrim Walks

Armagh Walks

Carlow Hikes

Cavan Hikes

Clare Hikes

Cork Hikes

Derry Hikes

Donegal Hikes

Down Hikes

Dublin Hikes

Fermanagh Hikes

Kerry Hikes

Kilkenny Hikes

Laois Hikes

Leitrim Hikes

Limerick Hike

Longford Hikes

Louth Hikes

Mayo Hikes

Meath Hikes

Monaghan Hikes

Roscommon Hikes

Sligo Hikes

Tipperary Hike

Tyrone Hikes

Waterford Hikes

Wexford Hikes

Wicklow Hikes

The post Ireland Hikes by County appeared first on Our Family Hikes.

Eask Tower Walk Facts

• 2.4km out and back walk
• Start the walk here
• Quite steep at the start but Zig-Zag trails make it easier
• Allow 1.5-2 hours to walk it and enjoy the views
• Stunning views at the summit
• Limited Parking, 5-6 car spaces
• Not Dog friendly
• €2 fee per adult- Kids go free
• The farm owner collects the fee but also provides some great Irish humour
• Farm owner lets you use their water to wash shoes at the end

Our Eask Tower Walk Experience

We started our hike to Eask Tower, late in the evening with the hope to try to get some kind of sunset. As we parked the car, the farm owner came out to collect the fee and provide us with lots of great stories. The kids loved chatting with her.

Starting the walk to Eask tower Dingle

The walk starts off by walking through a field owned by the farm lady. The walk is steep and filled with sheep poo but that adds to the whole experience. You pass through some gates before getting to the start of the Zig-zags.

When we reached the zig-zags it doesn’t seem as steep and we quickly reached the top section of the walk, where we could see the tower. We walked across the top of the hill until we reached the tower.

Luckily for us, an American family were also at the top at the same time and took a family photo of us, which we rarely get.

At the top, we relaxed and had a small picnic looking at the sunset over County Kerry and the Dingle peninsula.

Kids walking to Eask Tower

Our kids love the walk to Eask tower. Our 5-year-old ran to the top on her own. Our 3-year-old, did get carried at steep sections. We still bring our Deuter kids comfort for these sections to give her little legs a break when she needs it, our 1 year old got a free lift up and back with her Mammys Ergo carrier.

Summary of Dingle Family Walk

An easy 2.4km walk to Eask Tower and a true hidden gem of a walk. We highly recommend it. Our kids loved this walk.

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When I first starting breastfeeding nearly 5 years ago, I taught I needed my breastfeeding pillow everywhere. On my 1st born, I found the first 6 weeks of breastfeeding hard mostly due to sore nipples, from a bad latch,  later I found out that she had a lip tie which didn’t help.  After that hurdle, it became very easy for me and I absolutely loved my breastfeeding journey.

Breastfeeding in the outdoors while hiking

When my firstborn daughter was 6 months old, we started becoming a little bit more adventurous with our hikes. We traveled all over Ireland climbing mountains with her on our back. Breastfeeding played a big part in that journey. It took that extra pressure off and allowed us to carry fewer baby-related items which also meant we didn’t have to stick to a routine. I could just feed her on demand when she wanted, wherever she wanted. I have fed both my girls until they were 18 months and now I am back feeding my third little girl, and I am loving it.

Breastfeeding in the outdoors 11 top tips

Here are some tips that I have learned along the way that worked for me and made our hiking adventures in the outdoors easier.

1. Offer a feed in the car before you start your walk

By offering a feed in the comfort of your own car before you start your walk, you will start the hike with a happy and content baby. It will be one less feed to do on the trail. Sometimes this doesn’t work out, as they could be asleep from the car journey, I just pop the sleeping baby into the sling and keep walking until they wake up looking for a feed.

2. Try to find a comfortable seat

If you didn’t want to buy or bring a pad to sit on, you could sit on your rucksack, a stone, or a log. Try to find somewhere dry and comfortable to sit on, you don’t know how long you could be there.

3. Bring a small Umbrella

An umbrella is fantastic to use to protect you and the baby. The umbrella can block the sun, stop a light breeze and it can give you that extra bit of privacy if you are in a very public place. It also stops your baby from becoming distracted from being too nosey, which leads to her stopping mid-feed to look around.

4. Wear breastfeeding-friendly layers

Breastfeeding bras and tops are handy but you don’t have to go out and buy them, you can use what you have.

I wear a strap top, a loose-fitting t-shirt or top, and a zip jacket. All I have to do is pull up my top and pull down my strap top and bra, therefore you are completely covered, keeping your back, tummy, and chest warm while helping you feel modest and less exposed.

5. Wear a light scarf

I find a scarf handy as it acts as extra coverage and you can also use it as a blanket

6. Bring a rain cover

I bring the rain cover from my pram just in case I ever got caught out in the rain and needed to feed the baby and we couldn’t find shelter. You could drop it over your baby or use your rain jacket or poncho. In my bag I also have a little mosquito net just in case I need it for when you sit still there are more chances of little flies etc annoying you and your baby.

7. Feeding your baby in a Sling

When I use my ergo baby carrier, I loosen the strap on the side, that the baby is feeding at and get her into a comfortable position. I then hold her as I would when feeding her and the carrier acts as extra support for the baby.

8. Feeding your baby in a Deuter carrier

While Breastfeeding in the outdoors while hiking, sometimes I found that it might not suit to take our daughter out of the carrier to feed her. The weather could be bad and she could be protected in her carrier, we might be in an unsafe part of the hike, etc. We learned over numerous hikes, that if the baby is happy in her carrier that it might be easier to just feed her in the carrier. Sometimes, when you take them out of the carrier they might not want to go back in. They might just want to walk or to be carried to get a better view of the sheep, I learned to feed her while she sat in the carrier.

I just opened the side strap of the carrier, I kept her strapped in and I just leaned in and hugged the carrier and she would feed away, you could tilt the carrier a little to get a better position. This is easier to do when they are older, around 1 year old.

9. Feeding your baby when you have active toddlers with you

Now when we go hiking and I need to feed my youngest it’s harder to stop for long periods of time as my older two girls love to be on the move. To encourage everyone to stop, we put down a blanket and have little picnics (loads of snacks).

We let them empty out their hiking bags to look at the treasures, that they collected along their hike and sometimes I pull out a little notebook and pen to let them draw their favorite things that they have seen along the hike. When all of the above fails, I walk and feed at the same time.

10. Stay hydrated while Breastfeeding in the outdoors while hiking

While hiking, it’s important to stay hydrated and the same when you breastfeeding so make sure to bring extra water and keep hydrated, I usually hike with my husband, and he carries all these extra items in his hiking bag. We also bring Lifestraw bottles in case we run out of water. They are extremely handy and provide that little bit of security you need.

11. Relax and enjoy feeding your baby in nature

It can be stressful feeding in public, especially when it’s your first time. My advice is to try to ignore strangers passing by and relax, smile down at your baby and enjoy both the view of your baby and the view of the mountains or wherever you are.

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The Rock of Dunamase or it can also be called Dunamase Castle is situated between Carlow and Portlaoise on the N80 road or between Dublin and Limerick on the M7 road. If you find yourself on the either of these roads and you have time to kill, the Rock of Dunmase is perfectly situated to give you an opportunity to stop and stretch the legs.

We were driving down to walk the Glenbarrow Loop and waterfall in the Slieve Bloom mountains and we drove past the Rock of Dunamase. We both looked up at the ruins of the castle as we were passing and instantaneously decided that we were also going to visit one of the ancient easts historical sites. We quickly did a U-turn and drove down the side road off the N-80 and parked the car beside the small church opposite the Castle.

Admission and parking at the Rock of Dunamase

Admission to the Rock of Dunamase is free but car parking is limited and the car park space is more of a roadside than carpark. We arrived early on a Sunday morning and we were the only car there but after exploring for 1 hour, we came back and there were only a few car parking spaces left, so come early.

Our initial view while driving up the small lane to the castle was of this dominating hilltop Castle, which dates back to the 12th century. At the start of the Dunamase Rock walk, there was an information board with a plan of the castle in its former glory and loads information about the castle’s history.

Paths and walks around Dunamase

The ruins of the castle have a gravel path leading up through the middle of the external walled entrance gate. The path leads up toward the main castle which has loads of small alcoves and windows to explore. The Castle was built on top of a hill so there are 360-degree views when you reach the top (if the weather is good that is).

The Rock of Dunamase was a welcome distraction from our road trip to our weekend hiking destination. Try to get to the Dunamase castle early, we arrived at 10 am on a Sunday morning and we were the only people visiting the castle at the time.

Rock of Dunamase how to get there

Ireland uses an Eircode system to identify houses or buildings, there is a church beside the rock of Dunamase and its Eircode is R32E170. If you put the 6 digit code into google maps it will bring you straight to the church that sits right beside Dunamase Castle.

The Rock of Dunamase walk

If your looking for a long hike this is not the place for it. There is a nice casual looped walk around the ground of Dunamase Castle which could easily be done in 15-20 minutes. The walk around the rock does provide some great opportunities for some pictures and views of the Midlands landscape.

Would we recommend The rock of Dunamase?

We would highly recommend visiting the rock of Dunamase if you are passing, as it is steeped in history and is a very nice place off the beaten track.

Fun fact of Dunamase Castle

Also, here is a fun fact about the castle: Parts of Darby O Gill and the little people and Leap Year were filmed here.

Our visit to the castle ruins gave us a great start to our day of hiking around County Laois.

Other hikes and walks in Laois

The Glenbarrow Waterfall hike

Abbeyleix Bog Walk

Monicknew Forest Walk

Arderin Slieve Blooms

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We attempted to hike it once about 6 months ago in the middle of the 32 Peak Challenge. We arrived at the mountain car park early one Saturday morning and the car park was full with a race, we decided for safety reasons it was probably better if we didn’t hike up it.

Hiking the Great Sugarloaf key information

• Starting point at the main car park here
• Alternative car park for a longer hike here. The Sugarloaf way
• From main car park allow 1 hour total- up and back
• Signposts are not great but the track is very visible
• Good hiking boots are essential, very rocky
• Amazing panoramic views at the summit- 8 out of 10
• Always busy on the weekends- come early or mid-week
• Hike the little sugarloaf after- Amazing views
• Difficulty- 5 out of 10. Tricky scramble at the end with kids

How to get to the Sugarloaf mountain

The Sugar loaf walk car park is on the opposite side of the mountain to the motorway, N11 road. Coming from Dublin take junction 8 and drive toward Roundwood until you see a large car park on the left-hand side. Drive down the road beside this until you see the Sugarloaf mountain car park.

The Sugarloaf Mountain

The Sugarloaf sits at an elevated height of 501m. The Sugarloaf has a distinctive look to it, similar to Errigal in shape. Thankfully it isn’t as hard as Errigal or as long of a hike. The hike up to the summit of the Sugarloaf consists of some gradual hill walking and a small bit of scrambling over rocks near the end, which is really fun. The views from the top of the Sugarloaf are pretty impressive, you can see the coastline from Bray to Greystones along with the Djouce mountain to your right-hand side.

Hiking the Sugar loaf with a Toddler

The Sugarloaf mountain is a pretty easy out and back hike to the summit. IThe sugar loaf hike would be a great hike for beginners, as there are not any major cliffs and it’s a nice short walk if you need to turn back because of a toddler tantrum. There is a bit of scrambling over rocks near the summit of this hike, so be sure to wear the correct hiking shoes and if you are wearing a baby carrier try to avoid weekends and large crowds.

Over the previous 2 months, Ourlittlehiker had refused to get into her hiking bag and we taught that our days of hiking up mountains were finished. This was slightly heartbreaking, as we only have 3 mountains left to finish off our 32 peak challenge. We started to focus on lower looped walks and she started to look for her hiking bag again. We used the Sugarloaf as a trial run to gauge Ourlittlehikers attitude toward her hiking bag again. When we stopped the car and took out the hiking bag she jumped straight into the carrier. We both looked at each other and smiled. We were back hiking mountains again.

Hiking the Sugarloaf Mountain hike

We now have a content Toddler in her Hiking bag so we decide to start our hike and get on the trail as quickly as possible.

The sugar loaf hike starts in the car park, we go through a metal gate onto a well-worn path that is slowly pointing toward the mountaintop. The path cuts between gorse bushes on either side. As we start getting further up the hill we see that some of the gorse bush was recently on fire. We pass some cows to our right, which Ourlittlehiker is now afraid of because they have big eyes and a nose (you have to love a toddler’s logic).

We can now see the bottom of the steep slope, which is also the end of the gently sloping footpath. We reach a Y junction with a waymark sign pointing left, we continue straight here and follow the footpath to the base of the mountain. At the base of the mountain, the path becomes far more rocker with large stones and culverts to navigate.

The path now cuts around to the left side of the mountain and the trail to the top becomes visible. At first, the route looks extremely daunting, as it is quite steep but the path is in very good condition so this helps a lot with the hike to the top. From this point, we reach the top within a couple of minutes.

The whole way up to the top of the Sugar loaf hike, Ourlittlehiker kept shouting “Big Rock” at least she understood what we were climbing. The scramble up the last 10 meters of this hike is very enjoyable and Ourlittlehiker kept shouting “more Daddy” so we presume that she liked this very small bit of rock climbing. This last section of this hike is the trickiest but the footing is good with very little Scree. If you take care on this section, it is perfectly safe and reasonably easy.

The Top of the Sugarloaf Mountain Wicklow

When we reached the top of the sugar loaf, we were very lucky that the weather was extremely good for the last week in October. There was very little wind and a perfect temperature on top to really soak in the amazing panoramic views of the Southeast coastline and the Wicklow and Dublin mountains.

We didn’t stay on the summit too long as we were afraid that Ourlittlhiker would want to get out of her bag to walk a section herself, we both knew this was impossible with the tricky descent below. We descended down to the bottom of the mountain pretty quickly.

How long does it take to climb the Sugar loaf Wicklow?

We hiked up the Sugarloaf and had a small break at the top and back to the car in around 1 hour. This was a very enjoyable family hike and hopefully, Ourlittlehiker will allow us to complete the remaining 3 peaks of the 32 peak challenge when the weather improves.

The Great Sugarloaf Wicklow Map

Below is a map of the route up the Great Sugar loaf in Wicklow. We clocked it at 1.4km up to the Summit from the Car park.

Additional Hikes Close to the Sugar Loaf

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How to get to Glenbarrow Loop walk

The hike carpark/start point is really well signposted and provides a breakpoint if you’re driving the N7 motorway from Dublin to Limerick. We got off the motorway in Portlaoise and drove to Rosenallis and then followed all the signposts for Glenbarrow waterfall, it took us 30 minutes to drive from Portlaoise.

There is a really good size carpark at the start of the trailhead that could easily accommodate 50 vehicles, so parking should not be an issue. At the start of the walk, there is an information board detailing 3 looped walk options. We walked the blue looped walk which was called the “Glenbarrow Eco Walk” this was 7km long and we walked past the lovely Glenbarrow waterfall.

Starting the Glenbarrow Loop Walk

The Glenbarrow walk starts by walking down a small lane that is sandwiched between two moss-covered stone walls. The small lane leads down to the start of the eco trail into the pine forest.

Most of this section of the trail is walked parallel to the river, while also walking slightly uphill towards the Glenbarrow waterfall. The trail is surrounded by mature woodland that’s covered in a blanket of green moss that has even started to creep up every tree, it felt very lord of the rings here.

Most of the trail has a good hardcore surface or railway sleepers but there is mud covering some sections. We have just had a large amount of snow here so every trail that we hike lately is like this. The forest section has lots of small streams and alcoves to explore while walking towards the waterfall. After walking for about 200m the trail elevation started to rise uphill slightly and we enter Glenbarrow woods via wooden railings.

We passed a wooden hut on our left and continued along the well-worn path up the river. We started to walk on small paths cut into rocks that lead up toward the top of the beautiful 3-tiered Clamp Hole waterfall.

There was a wooden barrier/handrail alongside the waterfall with some steep rocks to climb. There are two options here, you can climb the rocks beside the waterfall (about 1.2m high) or take the path on the left-hand side which will meet at the top of the waterfall. We chose the one beside the waterfall as it looked like fun. We love climbing as its all part of the adventure.

After we admired the beautiful waterfall we continued our hike, this time on wooden railway sleepers. The sleepers cut through the woodland area and we climbed up until we reached a foresty road. We took a left here and continued along the road until we reached a 3-way junction, we veered right here and continued uphill until we reached another forestry road that had an option to enter a woodland footpath, we took a left here downhill on a lovely boardwalk.

We followed the boardwalk through a mixture of natural woodland and coniferous trees. Near the end of the walk, there was a plastic box full of leaflets on the Slieve bloom walks. We taught this was a great idea.

This path leads us back to a little lane straight to the car park. We had our lunch and enjoyed looking at the horses in the field beside the carpark.

 Conclusion on the Glenbarrow Loop Walk

The Glenbarrow Loop walk offers everything for a good Sunday adventure with the family. There are forests, rivers and waterfalls all crammed into an area filled with natural wildlife. You will need good hiking boots in winter months but there are also sections with boardwalks that has a very good surface.

The walk is extremely well signposted and there is very little chance of getting lost, trust us were experts at taking the wrong turn.

It would not be possible to hike the Glenbarrow loop walk with a toddler if you did not have a baby backpack as a buggy would not work on the railway sleepers.

The Glenbarrow is a lovely walk and a true credit to the people that maintain and operate it. This is one of the best walks in Ireland, that we have done this year. We had great fun on this trail and cannot wait to come back and explore more.

More information and maps can be found on the Slieve Bloom website here.

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We read about the Jean Kennedy Smith walk in Oulart the Ballagh in the Irish Independent newspaper. It was voted the top historic walk in Ireland. It is a 30-minute drive from where we live and believe it or not we have never heard of this walk before. Well, what a hidden gem, it was such an enjoyable walk. And talk about picking the right time to do it, we walked through the village just in time to see the Parade and marching band for the unveiling of Mise Eire.

About OULART HILL and this Wexford Walk

It is an 11.5km looped walk that will bring you past a number of very interesting sights like Tulach a’t Solais on the top of Oulart Hill which consists of a grassy burial mound cut in half by a narrow passage that leads to a modern chamber. Oulart Hill was a scene of a United Irishman victory in 1798. The monument was erected to commemorate the battle. Along the walk, there are lovely viewing points of the countryside and Father Murphy’s grave, the bygone day’s storytelling house and also the tree of Liberty that Jean Kennedy Smith planted on her visit here in 1995.

We started the walk at the large carpark up the road from the church. Keep driving straight on the road until you see a large 1798 memorial stone at the entrance of the carpark.

The path is signposted and it cuts between a grass ditch and a field. The trail provides great panoramic viewing points with information signs detailing hills and historic locations in the distance, this is great for people that are not from the area.

Tulach a’t Solais Wexford Family Walk

We walked through a young small wooded area to be greeted by an amazing monument called Tulach a’t Solais on Oulart Hill. The monument was built to commemorate the 1798 rebellion and Jean Kennedy Smith turned the first sod of the building in 1999.

After taking many pictures around the monument we continued walking the blue loop. We continued down the back of the monument into a pine tree wooded area. At the end of the pine forest, we came to the edge of someone’s house and backyard but the signs pointed us through the yard. We sheepishly nudged and egged each other through the yard hoping that we were not intruding on someone’s privacy.

After passing through the yard we then crossed a busy main road and walked onto an old skinny horse and cart lane that was grown over. I’m sure 100 years ago this road was a hive of activity especially on market days in the town.

The hike then progressed to another busy road which we crossed to see the Jean Kennedy Smith monument, this town in Ireland is tiny in the scale of things, it’s amazing to think that Jean Kennedy Smith visited here.

We continued walking down another horse and cart trail but this time it was more overgrown than the last one and full of stingy nettles (not good for shorts). We walked out of the overgrown cart track onto another main road leading into the town but this time there were police at the exit.

We could see in the distance a large crowd and the road was closed off, we continued walking the trail and came up to the crowd. There was a marching band, and a parade full of people dressed up in 1798 army gear (We picked a good time to do this Wexford hike).

We started walking back toward the middle of the town and passing all the music and marching army folk, it made for an entertaining hike. We walked back to the church that we passed on our drive up to the carpark. We continued walking on this road until we arrived at the carpark where we started.

The verdict of Oulart Hill walk and the Jean Kennedy Smith trail

It was a very nice walk with an outstanding memorial at the start on Oulart Hill. There was a lot of road walking but the roads were very quiet and most of them were too small to fit cars on. Take care when crossing the busy road sections.

The Tulach a’t Solais on Oulart Hill is a monument that needs to receive greater publicity, as it is simply amazing and totally free.

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Tintern Abbey is on the Hook peninsula and was built in 1203. The Abbey itself is semi-restored with parts of the building still in ruins but there are still good facilities on-site, such as a coffee shop and toilets. Tintern Abbey is ranked as one of the major tourist attractions in Wexford and it does not disappoint, the abbey and gardens are a must see when visiting Hook lighthouse as you will essentially drive past the entrance while going to hook lighthouse. The grounds around the Abbey and Tintern Abbey Hikes are free to roam around, to get access to the Abbey itself will cost €5.00. For updates on opening times on the Abbey visit their site here.

When driving into the Abbey you drive down a long private road until you get to the side of the Abbey, the day we were here there was ample parking beside the abbey. We walked down to the side of the Abbey passing the Coffee shop and toilets on our left-hand side until we reached a small bridge and a signpost showing all the walking routes on the grounds.

Tintern Abbey Hikes

There are 4 signposted walks available at Tintern Abbey, they are;

• The Blue arrow walk called the Gardeners trail 0.9km long
• The Red arrow walk called the Tintern Demesne Trail and is 2.4km long
• The White arrow walk called the Foxboro Trail and is 3.5km long
• The Green arrow walk called the Bannow Bay Trail and is 7.5km long

We decided to walk all the trails in Tintern Abbey and as usual, we went for the longest trail to hike first, which was the green signed trail.

Tintern Abbey Hike – Green Signs

The green signed hike is the longest of the Tintern Abbey hikes with a distance of 7.5 km and an expected walking time of 1.5 hrs to 2 hrs. The signpost highlights that the majority of this walk is done on small roads.

The green walk starts by walking across the small bridge at the signpost and then taking a sharp right into the woodland on a good wide gravel footpath until you reach the Abbeys large bridge that resembles the top of a castle. We walked through the deal park and on to the ‘Brickfield’ this is where the bricks were made to be used in the walled gardens.

Continue walking straight and follow the river towards Saltmill town, the trial will gradually rise until the small walking trail slowly starts to turn into a small local car access road with a tarmac surface.

While walking up to the top of the small hill we walk parallel to an estuary and are greeted with views of Saltmills bridge, which made for some nice views with the low winter sun shining through it.

Halfway to Saltmills about 1-2 km into the hike we came across a little pub called “Vine Cottage Bar” we didn’t go in as we felt we just got going and it’s just easier to keep walking instead of taking off the baby rucksack and taking our little hiker out so soon into the hike. We continued walking towards the town and then came to a T junction on a busy road. Be careful on this road as some cars are going extremely quick, so always assume the car has not seen you and stand on the grass verge and let the car pass.

We now cross Saltmills bridge, the footpath stops before you cross the bridge so if you meet a car you will have to walk on the grass. The bridge is called Tintern bridge and was built in 1817 it provided nice views of the Abbey and the Sea, can you imagine the traffic this bridge has witnessed over the years.

We continued on the side of the road passing the red galvanized sheds on our right-hand side going toward the next corner, this is possibly the most dangerous section of the walk as there is limited room to stand off the road when cars are coming toward you.

On the walk toward the next corner which is about 150m from Tintern bridge, St Marys ‘first fruit’ Church is on our left after this, we then came to a Y junction and at this junction, we walked down the small little road toward the Sea.

This road is a very small road with a lot less traffic, we did meet cars but they all slowed down to pass us. The road becomes quite muddy and I imagine it is prone to flooding in bad weather but on the day of our hike, it provided a nice level surface to experience the nice trail.

On right 100m down the road, we start walking along Bannow bay which also has a section of a nature reserve. We continue walking and on the left is an old IRA memorial.

This section of the walk meanders around the bay and the road sweeps in and out following the formation of the bay. Most of the road is visible around the bay so it gives you a good idea what is ahead. In the distance, we can see an old dredger boat that seems to have run aground or maybe even misplaced. The dredger is our visual goal for this section and provided some nice backdrop photos.

It was so relaxing walking beside the sea, listening to the waves crashing against the rocks and the odd bird flying overhead. Unfortunately, our little hiker had fallen asleep at this stage of the hike and missed the dredger and the wildlife, she might see it next time.

As we walked this section of the Tintern Abbey hike it provided much-needed family time and we started to talk about our little hiker’s weekly advances in life. So we decided to try every week on our hikes to make a private video while we are out on the hike detailing her weekly changes and new habits. This took many different attempts but we had good fun doing it.

The road turns 90 degrees soon after the boat and the gradient of the road starts to increase slightly, nothing our little hiker’s Mammy cant handle.

The road continues past a couple of farms and rural houses. We are now starting to walk back towards the Abbey and most of the best sights are behind us.

After about 10 minutes on this road, we come to a T junction at a slightly busier road, the signs point toward a corner on our left.

After the initial first corner, the road is reasonably straight with wide grass verges to stand on if cars are coming. There is not much to see in this section of the walk but it’s only about 15 minutes long and there is a nice little hill to take your mind off the lack of views. After the small hill, there is another T junction, this is the main road so take car approaching it. Opposite the main road, there is a gate back to the grounds of Tintern Abbey where you can walk over the wall or climb the gate to get access to the trail.

This section of the walk seems to have received a new layer of gravel lately and is a very nice surface to walk on. The path leads downhill through a wooded area leading past ruins of an old church and graveyard.

We took some time to explore the ruins of the old church and graveyard. We then continued down the hill and started walking back towards the second bridge that we initially crossed at the start of the walk.

We turned right here still following the green arrows, which eventually brought us back to the Abbey just in time to see a dog looking out a window and get some treats in the coffee shop.

Would we recommend Tintern Abbey Hike–Green Signed Walk

The Bannow Bay Green trail gave us a taste of all that Saltmills and Tintern Abbey had to offer. The majority of this trail is walked on roads but this is highlighted on the signpost at the start and they are quite roads, so it is hard to complain about this.

This walk gave us quite country paths, a town stroll which passed nearby pubs,  historical memorials, nature reserves, wrecked ships and churches along with graveyards. There were less entertaining sections of road but every walk has sections like this. Overall we enjoyed the hike but it is probably not buggy or small child-friendly due to the sections of busy road.

Tintern Abbey Hike – White Signs

Tintern Abbey Hike – Red Signs

Tintern Abbey Hike – Blue Signs 0.9km

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Tara Hill is a hill dominating the landscape over Gorey, Court town and Castletown. Tara hill is only 253m high but as it sits beside the gorgeous Wexford coastline it provides extensive panoramic views of the sea and distant larger mountains. Tara hill village seems like a small Irish village with the usual small Irish town facilities. Tara Hill hike is perfectly situated as it is only a 10-minute drive off the N11 road, which is the main road from Wexford and Dublin. This hike can provide a perfect 45-minute break from the monotony of motorway driving.

Tara Hill looped Hike Start Point

We did the usual thing of just putting’Tara hill’ into google maps to find the location, occasionally, this doesn’t work and it brings us to the wrong location but this time it brought us straight to the starting point of the intended hike. We took exit 22 from the N11 motorway, for Gorey/Inch and drove towards Gorey on the R722 until we got to the road junction L5032 road for Ballymoney or the Seafield hotel. We continued on this road for about 4-5 km and turned left at a Y junction with a sign for Tara hill on a stone. We drove 1 km up the road then took the next left. We continued driving up the hill until we seen the Tara hill lopped walk signs.

There is a small car park at the start of the hike that fitted about 3-4 cars maximum, so try to come early. As we walked, we saw that there was another car park available closer to the village beside the national school. We were lucky and parked the car safely in the one small remaining space at the start of the blue hike.

The sign for the Tara hill hike shows two possible routes, the red lopped walk, and the blue looped walk.

• The red loop is 5km and goes around the base of the hill.
• The blue loop is 5.4km goes up the hill and gives amazing views.

When we go hiking we always seem to go instinctively for the longest and highest hike and this hike was no different, we decided to go for the blue looped walk. We started walking from the car park following the signpost going up the small cul-de-sac residential lane. This part of the walk was very quiet, with no traffic to worry about, as we gained elevation we started to get views of the sea and the lovely Wexford coastline.

We walked to the end of the tarmac lane where the blue and red loop split, the blue loop enters the wood and has 4-5 large rocks entering a cleared forestry.

Within 1-2 minutes of walking into the forestry, the trail will gain in elevation quickly. The trail will follow a zig-zag pattern up to the top of the blue looped.

There is a small seating area among a rocky area of the trail that provided us with the best views of the day. When we hiked this walk there was a bad wind chill so we didn’t hang around here too long as it was quite exposed. This seated area would be perfect to relax and take in the amazing Irish landscape, as the views don’t get much better than this.

After this seating area, we continued further up the hill, we came to a T junction but unfortunately, the signpost was knocked down. We stood there and tried to guess which was the right direction but I think we guessed the wrong route. We continued straight ahead until we came to another T junction where we could see windmills in the Sea in the distance. There was another blue arrow pointing us right at this junction, we followed it and started walking downhill again.

This was another nice section of the hike as we were walking towards the sea views, the cold winter wind was behind our backs and the forestry has been replanted with eucalyptus trees. We walked downhill for a couple of kilometers unaware that we had taken a wrong turn somewhere.

Halfway through the downhill section, we had a small picnic but as it is winter and VERY cold we just kept walking and eating. Our little hiker LOVES mandarin oranges at the minute so we all had some fruit to keep our energy levels up.

We continued walking downhill until we got to an open yellow metal barrier but there were no more Blue arrows to be seen, only one red arrow pointing into the wood. We walked down to a carpark at the bottom of the lane about 50m away but there were no more blue arrows to be seen here either. We walked back to the Red arrow sign, which cut through the bottom of the wood on a muddy footpath, we followed this sign as we knew it would bring us back to the start.

We walked on the muddy path until we came to a farm gate, which also brought us onto a small country lane but thankfully the red arrows were very consistent at this stage of the trail.

Like most small hikes in Ireland, there will be a section of road walking and the Tara hill hike was no exception. This section was on a very tight country road with limited stand in sections when cars came, the road was very busy when we were walking it, we probably met 5-6 cars in the 500-600 meters of road.We didn’t mind this too bad as this section of the trail brought us past Tara village Catholic church, which we walked in around to admire the building.

We were delighted that the church doors were open as we always love walking into churches for a quick break. The church is called Saint Kevins and was built between 1939-1941. St Kevin’s church is a small church which gives it a very welcoming warm feeling. The Christmas nativity scene was still up when we visited and our daughter seemed very impressed when we gave her a closer look at all the detail. The church had amazing vaulted ceilings with exposed beams and is well worth a visit when hiking this trail.

We walked back out of the church and walked towards the junction beside the national school, where we saw another Red sign. We continued past the national school up the hill on a footpath where there was another carpark, which the red loop could be walked from.

We continued up the road but the footpath quickly disappeared and we were back to walking on the side of a very small busy country road, this section might not be suitable for a pram. Another Red sign appeared about 1km on this road and we turned onto an even smaller road which was another cul-de-sac and was very quiet.

Turn left here onto a cul-de-sac

This small cul-de-sac road starts to rise sharply and follows the edge of the side of the hill contours, the road starts to turn muddy but also becomes very sheltered as the hill is now to our side and it blocks the cold sea air.

This was a very enjoyable section of the walk as it was reasonably flat and it felt like we were walking through the middle of the Wexford countryside, you could nearly imagine these roads were used with horse-drawn carts maybe a century ago.

The grassy country lane continued for another couple of kilometers and was slightly overgrown but this added to the character of the hike. The lane then turned back into a tarmac road again which quickly revealed our car around a corner.

Conclusion of our Tara Hill Hike

To be honest, when we set out to do the Tara hill hike we didn’t have high expectations, as we couldn’t find much information online about it. As we got lost it was hard to give an accurate distance but we clocked it at around 7.5km with the mixture of the Blue and Red looped walks, this took us 2 hours to complete but we had a lot of stops and breaks to admire the views when we could.

The hike has amazing views and is nicely challenging without the need to climb a larger mountain. Boots are necessary for winter, I’d imagine you would get away with hiking shoes in summer as there were only a few areas that had mud in the depths of winter. If you are passing Gorey and need a break this hike is a must, and we highly recommend it.

There were only a few problems we found with the hike;

• Signposting was very poor and sporadic in places
• Where we parked it was only limited to 3 cars
• Road walking for a couple of Km’s on very tight roads.

The issues above would not stop me from recommending this hike.

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