We decided to start the coastal walk at Killesk church (Eircode Y34 AV90) on the Duncannon road as it allowed us to park our car in a safe location and it removed all the road walking from this trail. The church entrance is opposite the trail here. We have a 6-week old baby in our hiking family, so we needed to bring our buggies and avoid the metal stairs at the Arthurstown start point here.

Walk key information

** This trail is open to the public but it is not fully finished yet**

• Distance- out and back walk 4km total
• Time- 1 hour 30mins – 2 hours (With kids)
• Parking- Available at church (Eircode Y34 AV90) or Arthurstown Quay
• Difficulty- 3 out of 10. The path is not finished yet.
• Recommendation- 7 out of 10. This has great potential when complete.
• Buggy friendly- Very bumpy must start from Duncannon side
• Length- 2km to Arthurstown and 2km back to Duncannon, 4km total.

About the Arthurstown to Duncannon walk

Killesk Church is directly opposite our starting point. We parked on the church grounds and started our walk on a dust path that cuts through the farmland of Dunbrody house. The walk initially cuts through 2 fields with distant sea views to our left. This is a perfect location to let the 2 and 4-year-olds release energy after their long drive. You can find out more about this beautiful Wexford coast walk here.

We reach a cross junction with some old signposts point straight on. Turn left here and go down the hill into the mature woodland. The map below shows the correct route to take.

We continued straight (this was the wrong direction) and walked until we reached the Dunbrody house hotel. We knew this was not correct and turned around.

Junction for Arthurstown coastal path

After we turned down the hill toward Arthurstown, we walked into a shaded dense woodland. The forest floor was covered in thousands of bluebells.

The path had a very poor surface which was barely suitable for buggies but with a bit of Daddy power, we made our way down to the bottom. The hill down was steep and all we were thinking was how hard this was going to be walking back up with 2 buggies.

When we came out of the woodland we were greeted with beautiful coastal views. The path cut through dense gorse bushes on one side and the sea filled with passing boats on the other side. The gorse bushes provided an amazing coconut scent to our walk.

We walked to the end of the trail where Wexford Council are adjusting the walk to provide better access at the Arthurstown starting point. We had a small picnic here admiring the beautiful Wexford coastline. Wexford is really a beautiful county.

Would we recommend the Arthurstown to Duncannon Coastal Walk?

Yes, our children loved this walk. When the signposting and surface are improved, we can see this walk becoming an annual walk for our little family. It’s hard to give negative feedback about the lack of signs, as it’s still a work in progress. Once this walk is finished it will be a fabulous walk.

Is the coastal walk child safe?

We feel it is safe for children. Most of the dangerous sections are either fenced off or not too steep. If you don’t walk the Duncannon road section the walk is totally safe and really beautiful.

Is the walk buggy friendly?

It is buggy friendly to an extent. If you have a big-wheeled buggy it would be more suited to this trail. We walked this trail with a mountain buggy and travel buggy but did find it difficult in stages due to surface conditions.

Note– It’s only buggy friendly from the Duncannon side as there is a large metal staircase on the Arthurstown side of the walk.

Activities after our walk- Duncannon Beach

Sadly, this was our first time visiting Duncannon. We drove down to the beach and to our great surprise and excitement we could drive onto the beach. This proved to be a great novelty with the children and parents alike.

This was a great spot for a bit of lunch, sandcastles and soaking our feet after our 4km walk. We highly recommend Duncannon beach after your Arthurstown to Duncannon walk.

This was a great way to finish off our Wexford adventure. We truly had a great time exploring these little hidden gems in Wexford. Hopefully, we can find some more.

The post Arthurstown to Duncannon Coastal Walk Co Wexford appeared first on Our Family Hikes.

Please Check With the Covid guidelines and Restrictions before attempting any of these hikes. At present, there is a 5km restriction from your house so adventue and explore within your 5km local area and these hikes will be here for you when its safe to travel again. Stay safe, Thank You

1. Mount Leinster

Mount Leinster is the highest point in County Wexford and Carlow. It sits at an altitude of 795m and has road access to the summit. The walk starts at the 9 stones viewing point.

• Amazing Views from the top
• Tarmac Road to the Top
• Buggy Friendly to the mast only
• Very Steep (But rewarding)
• Allow 2-3 hours including breaks
• Optional hikes to Knockroe, and the Blackstairs

2. Raven point Wood

Ravin Point is situated beside Curracloe beach in County Wexford. The walk is a 7km long lopped walk with an additional option to do the return loop along the beach. The walk starts at the entrance to Raven wood. At the start of the walk, there is a large carpark but it fills up very quickly on the weekends so come early.

This is a lovely walk filled with woodland trails, beach walks and lots of sea views. Visit Wexford has a map available.

• Woodland section only buggy friendly
• 2-hour walk with stops for snacks and sandcastles
• 7km+ walk depending on the route
• Amazing quite beach
• Large car park

3. Edenvale

We only recently discovered Edenvale and it was by chance. We drove past the entrance one day and spotted the walk sign, so we decided to explore it. Edenvale is situated between the N11 to Wexford town and Castlebridge. The Walk is through a woodland trail that follows along the River Sow to a water pumping station. If you decide to explore the water plant bring straps to keep the kids safe. It is buggy-friendly until you reach the water plant at the end. A metal platform leads you to the rear of the plant where there are stairs that allows you to walk alongside the waterfall to the top. There you will see an old bridge and the ruins of an old building.

• 2.5km long
• Buggy friendly
• Bring straps for small kids
• Flat walk

4. Oulart Hill – Tulach A Tsolais 

At the top of Oulart Hill is a monument to the United Irishmen’s uprising of 1798 called Tulach a’ tSolais. The car park at the start of the walk is large with lots of information signs. The monument is a 500m walk away from the carpark and is buggy friendly out to the monument. The walkout to the monument is filled with 360-degree views of Wexford and surrounding counties. Additional walks can be done but they entail road walking and are not buggy friendly see our previous blog post and Wexford walking trails for more information.

• Large Carpark
• Easy walk to the monument
• 1km is the shortest walk
• Hilltop walk
• Buggy friendly
• Large Carpark
• Great views
• Kids love exploring the monument
• Additional walks available

5. Lackin Hill

Lackin Hill is situated just outside New Ross. The walk to Lackin Hill starts at the Dunbrody Forest Walk and is fully signposted with large information boards at the start see here. Our Kids love the 5km walk up to the top of Lacken Hill. It’s filled with a large fairy village 100m away from the start and Ourlittlehikers loved every step of this. The route to the top of Lackin Hill is not buggy friendly but is sprinkled with fairy doors painted onto trees to help motivate little legs. There are 4 walking routes available to walk in Lackin Hill.

• 5km walk
• Fairy village
• Large Cross at the summit
• Not buggy friendly
• Large Car park
• Additional walks available

6. Cahore Cliff Walk

The Cahore cliff walk starts beside Cahore pier. We walked up Cahore Strand road until we got to the start of the trail. The trail is 2.5km in total and is an out and back walk. The path is wide and in good condition. There are amazing views of the sea, lots of sandy beaches and lots of birds overhead. We went on a winter’s day, so lots of layers were essential to keep warm. You can walk on the beach at the end if the weather permits. We decided on a nice hot chocolate at Cahore Strand instead.

• 2.5km long out and back and an optional 5km looped walk
• Buggy friendly
• Great sea views
• Beach section at the end
• A coffee shop at the start/finish with pizza :)
• Lots of parking

7. Tintern Abbey

Tintern Abbey is a great stopping point if you plan to visit Hook lighthouse. Use Eircode Y34 KR64 to get to the carpark.  There is an admission fee into the Abbey and walled garden but there are amazing FREE walks around the grounds. This is a great place to explore. The grounds are filled with lots of distractions for children to explore and wander around. There are 4 walks available at the Abbey.

• Free admission to walks
• Free large carpark
• Buggy friendly walks
• Wood carvings/distractions
• Good paths/signs
• Woodland walks
• Nice bridge/river walks

8. Tara Hill

Tara Hill is a lovely forest walk in the village of Tara. There are 2 walks available and both require some road walking. The views from the top of Tara Hill are amazing and well worth an out and back walk if you do not want to do the road sections. This walk is not buggy friendly. The start of the walk can be accessed from here.

• Limited parking
• Not buggy friendly
• Great views from the top
• Road sections
• Poor signposts

9. Carrigfoyle Quarry

Carrigfoyle Quarry seems to be a bit of a hidden gem in Wexford. The walk around the quarry is currently receiving a facelift but you can still walk down to the lake and around sections of the higher forest. We still used the old car park at the side of the road but the new sign at the trailhead shows a new carpark here.

• Limited Parking but being extended
• Buggy friendly
• Amazing lake views
• Short loop walk
• 15 minutes from Wexford Town

10. Sliabh Coillte

Slieve Coillte is opposite the JFK Arboretum. The access road to the top of Slieve Coillte has opening times but access to the top is free. The road is 3km long to the top and can be walked or drove. There are a number of stopping and viewing points along the way to the top. At the top, there are nice loop walks around the summit along with a 1798 memorial and a trig point. Sliabh Coillte has stunning views and is a great starter high point to get young children interested in walking and hiking.

• Stunning views
• Free access
• Large carpark
• A short walk around the summit
• Visit JFK Arboretum after
• Great picnic location

The post 10 Best Family Walks in Wexford appeared first on Our Family Hikes.

We have put our hill walking to one side for another year as we are in the middle of Autumn and the weather is getting colder and the evenings are getting shorter. At this time of year, we are always looking for interesting looped walks, forest trails and close walks to home that don’t require too much driving.

We found the Dunbrody forest walk after a bit of Googling ‘Wexford walks’. We previously did a tour of the Dunbrody famine ship so we found it interesting to discover that there was a walk around the woodland that the timber came from to make the ship.

Carpark to start the walk

If you put “Lacken Fairy Woods” into Google maps the Dunbrody Forest carpark will be shown. The carpark for this walk can also be found here.

Key Information about this Wexford Walk

• It has a fairy village at the start of the trail
• Great Autumn walk
• Amazing views on Lacken Hill
• Young kids love all the hidden fairy doors
• Fairy doors the whole way to the top of the hill
• Short walk to Lacken hill & Cross
• Sign posting to the Cross location could be better
• One of Wexfords best Autumn walks
• Hard to find on Google Maps- Click the link to go to Maps.

Starting the Dunbrody forest walk

We parked our car at the gates of the forest which probably has room for about 8 cars. There is a large timber sign at the start of the wood saying “forest of the Dunbrody”. We looked at the information board and decided to do the small loop walk around the wood and then walk up toward the 1798 monument.

As we walked into the forest, the Red arrow pointed right at the Y junction. There is also a sign pointing up the steps toward the 1798 memorial.

We followed the red arrow looped walk through the beech forest. As it is Autumn we were showered in fallen multicolour leaves, Ourlittlehiker was amazed by all the colours. She has become so independent lately and doesn’t want to be in her hiking bag as much anymore. We left her bag in the car for today. She loves hiking and walking and even insisted that we all have hiking sticks from fallen timber.

At the end of the long straight that cuts through the beech forest, the path started to rise gently and turn back toward the direction that we started from. We walked for about 5 minutes through a pine wood and then started to walk back down toward the beech forest again.

The trail then cuts through another pine tree section that is filled with amazing fairy doors, this was a lovely surprise. We played and knocked many of the doors but all the fairies must have been asleep.

From here we walked over a sty and fence and up a lane which then cut back into the woodland. The trail follows the natural lines of the trees and bends and rises around all the mature pines overhead. We eventually come back out onto a larger woodland road similar to the one we were walking on previously. We follow this road uphill until we come to a dead end. A smaller trail cuts off to the right through a freshly planted forest, we follow this for 5 minutes until we reach the monument at the top of the hill.

Lacken Hill 1798 Rebel Camp memorial

At the top of the hill, a metal cross and large stone mark the place where many died in the 1798 rebellion. From the top of the hill, there are lovely views of Wexford. We decided to not continue on the Blue loop as the second part of the walk goes onto a road and Ourlittlehiker hasn’t mastered the skills for road walking just yet.

Map to Lacken Hill

The walk to Lacken Hill is less than 1km. this is a perfect distance for a Sunday stroll with the kids. this is one of our favourite Autumn walks with the Kids, they love it.

Thoughts on Lacken Hill and Dunbrody forest Walk

It is very obvious that the local community take great pride in this lovely Wexford woodland walk. The Red loop walk is a lovely easy walk for a young family. Most of the walk can be accessed with a buggy with about 100m near the end that would require the buggy to be carried. The wood has loads of fairy doors scattered throughout and the paths are in superb condition.

Overall this is a very easy Sunday stroll that has a nice bit of history scattered through it. We easily explored the whole area with a toddler insisting on walking most of the trail in around 1 hour and loved every second of it.

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