Mweelrea is the highest point in Mayo and the province of Connaught, sitting at an elevation of 814m. At the top of Mweelrea, there are magnificent views of Killary Ford, Ireland’s only Fjord and a glacier valley, Doolough Pass. Not to mention the amazing views of the 12 ben mountains and numerous others.

How long does it take to hike Mweelrea

We left our car at 8:30am and arrived at the summit at 10:30- It took us 2 hours to ascend the mountain

We left the summit of Mweelrea at 10:45 and reached our car again at 11:45- It took us 1 hour to descend Mweelrea.

It took us 3 hours 15 minutes to hike Mweelrea this also included breaks and one or 2 small detours.

Where to start hiking Mweelrea Mayo Highest Moutain

We decided to hike Mweelrea from the west side of the mountain. We drove the road from Louisburgh to Silverstrand beach and about 1km from the beach there is a cul de sac road leading up a farmers lane, we parked our car here to start the walk up to Mweelrea. There should be room for 4-5 cars here easily. The time we walked Mweelrea we met no one else, we can only assume there doesn’t be many hiking this mountain.

Hiking Mweelrea from Silverstrand side

Mweelrea Ridge walk

 

Must see, while hiking Mweelrea Mayos highest point

Croagh Patrick

Ben Baun

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The route we intended to walk up to the top of Knockmealdown is a basic straight up and down and should be done within 3 hours with good weather conditions permitting. There is also a loop walk that starts at the higher carpark and walks up to sugar loaf hill and then over to Knockmealdown.

Getting to Knockmealdown

Waterford’s highest point is situated on the Vee road. We chose to walk Knockmealdown from the lower carpark but there is also a higher carpark beside the Shepard huts that seems to always have a good crowd of cars in it.

Hiking Knockmealdown Mountain

The hike to the top of Knockmealdown starts at the carpark on the side of the road. As we decided to ascent Knockmealdown first, we parked our car at the lower carpark, right underneath the mountain. The road is busy for a small country road but if you pay attention there should be no problem. After leaving the carpark we walk over a small bridge with a river running underneath.

Just at the Y of the two roads, a muddy track is worn into the bank beside the road sign. Climb up the bank toward the Knockmealdown mountain and start walking up toward the peak. When we walked into this area we struggled to pick out any real walking trails but our guidebook said to aim for Knockmealdown peak.

The ground at the start of the hike is boggy and full with small streams cutting through wild heather, so it is not the easiest to navigate through. Five minutes into the hike we had to navigate our way through waist height green bushes, but Ourlittlehiker loved all the hustle and bustle of the leaves hitting her rucksack.

After we hiked through the bushes the ground started to rise up toward the mountain pretty quickly. The heather was pretty thick in this section and we felt we had to raise our feet pretty high to clear the wild heather in sections. Sometimes we found it easier to find a small stream and follow it up the mountain instead of walking through the heather (thank god for waterproof boots).

After about 30 minutes of hiking, we turned around and realised we were halfway up the mountain without much effort or strain. The angle of the mountain did start to increase a bit more from here though, but thankfully the heather seemed to be very patchy from here on up the mountain and we could pick clear routes easier.

After hiking for about 1 hour we reached what we assumed was the top but unfortunately, it was a false peak. We (Semi) knew it was too soon for the top but we let our imagination run riot but when we looked to our left we could see that we were not as high as the other mountains so we couldn’t be a the top so soon.

The rest of the hike to the top of Knockmealdow was very easy, as the heather virtually disappeared near the top of the mountain. When we reached the summit of the mountain we were greeted with an amazing view of Waterford and Tipperary, we could even see the Galtee mountains that we climbed the previous weekend.

This is our first county high point that the weather allowed us to take Ourlittlehiker out of the bag to stretch her legs. The top of Knockmeadown is reasonably flat but the opposite edge of the mountain has a cliff, we obviously kept very far away from this. The views from the top were outstanding and we had a small picnic and enjoyed the views.

Knockmealdown to Sugar loaf Hill

We didn’t intend to walk the loop around sugarloaf hill but when we reached the top and we knew if we descended the way we came we would be back in the car within an hour and we still felt very fresh, so we were eager to get a longer walk in. The walking route over to Sugarloaf hill seems to follow an old wall and the route looked amazing, we had to walk it. As we don’t know when we would be back here again.

The little wall in the above picture leads the whole way to Sugarloaf Hill. The walk from Knockmealdown to Sugarloaf Hill took us 45 minutes and it was a very gentle descent to the base of Sugarloaf Hill, which sits at a height of 662.7m high.  We passed lots of sheep that were not fazed by us walking but Ourlittlehiker did her best to let everyone know there were sheep nearby (everytime she sees a sheep she shouts as loud as she can ‘SHEEEEEEPP‘), we love it and have a great little laugh every time she does it.

Coming down from Knockmealdowns high point, we could see Sugarloaf hill and it looked like we had another steep climb ahead of us again but when we reached the base of Sugarloaf hill, the climb to the top was not too bad and we did it in 10 minutes. The climb to the top is very rocky in places but we took a few detours around these sections and there even seemed to be paths worn into the hill to avoid them.

When we reached the top it was very crowded and Ourlittlehiker was fast asleep at this stage so we decided to continue walking back down toward the carpark without stopping at the top. The route back down to the carpark is a 90-degree turn to the left side from the direction we just came from. The route down from the sugar loaf hill is very easy to find but very steep in places, the walking sticks are essential here.

Halfway down the descent, we got a glimpse of a lovely lake. Even though we were descending the views still remained beautiful, we stopped many times to just appreciate the amazing landscape.

We descended the whole mountain and Ourlittlehiker was asleep from the base of sugar loaf hill to the top of it and back down the other side until we reached the road/carpark. Mountain rescue were training in the carpark and they had rescue dogs with them and one barked, she instantly heard a dog and shouted to tell it to ‘get out’ :) .

Walking the Road from Sugarloaf hill

We originally only wanted to walk up and straight back to the car and to not do the loop walk because there was a large road section. As we walked the loop around the mountain we now had to walk the road section but the thankfully all the road from the top carpark was downhill.

We originally didn’t want to do the loop walk because we wanted to avoid walking the road section. The road back to the car took us 25 minutes to walk and all the cars slowed down and provided enough room that we always felt safe. We even saw more sheep, which kept Ourlittlehiker very happy. The road section gave us the opportunity to stretch the legs after a hard descent on the knees.

When we reached the car we had a lovely picnic at the side of our car.

The verdict on Knockmealdown.

Hiking Knockmealdown mountain for the County High point, the straight up and back route is very easy but we recommend if the weather is permitting, you should to try to do the loop walk as it is well worth the effort.

Knockmealdown is one of the easier walks but it is quite high so please give it the respect that it needs and if the weather starts turning bad consider turning around as there are large cliffs to the side of this mountain.

The only negative of the loop walk is the road section, although saying that there are only a few bends and there was lovely Huts to see and the statue of the Holy Virgin Mary.  Overall be mindful of traffic and stand in when you see and hear the cars etc.

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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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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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