History of the Devils Bit
According to folklore, the mountain got its name because the Devil took a bit out of the rock and broke his tooth. The devil then spat the rock out to create the Rock of Cashel. Try explaining that to a 5-year-old.
Where is the Devil’s Bit Walk in Tipperary?
The Devil’s bit walk is situated in Templemore County Tipperary. We initially just put ” the Devils Bit” into google maps, this did not work out well for us. We were brought around the base of the mountain on a wild goose chase. We then put “Devils bit car park” into google maps, this worked. To simplify this, click this link to bring you to the car park.
The Devils Bit hike Tipperary
The Devils bit mountain is 478m high and sits north-west of the town of Templemore. The hike starts at the car park at the base of the hill. The car park location can be found here. The car park is big and has a large number of spaces and lots of room for picnics or even relaxing after the hike.
As we park our car, we immediately see the trail noticeboard and the gate to the start of the hike. We park up and dress the girls in their hiking gear. We have a small bite to eat and fill our bags with snacks for the girls.
Starting the Devils Bit Hike
Initially, we can view the hiking trail a good distance up the hill and it is wide and consists of a gravel path to the side of a field. The hike follows the edge of a farmer’s field. The field had cows in it when we were walking and the girls loved it. Ourlittlehiker couldn’t understand why the cow was drinking the water out of a bath and not swimming :) I love hiking with kids in Ireland.
At the top of the field, the trail becomes small and walks in through a wood.
Top Tip– If your children start saying they are tired, let them rest but also try to distract them. We find some great ways to amuse the children are, hide and seek, racing, looking at bugs, flowers and also lots of water and snacks.
The hike is steep and little legs will get tired, so lots of breaks are essential. As we come out of the wood we see an old stone tower. We had planned to stop here but we also got our first sight of the Cross at the top of the Devils bit, we decided to continue walking as everyone seemed to have good energy.
We reached a junction section in the trail and continued walking up the hill toward the cross and a statue of Mary. The small holy statue had a picnic table and amazing views so we decided to stop for a small picnic. The girls loved the break and cheese sandwiches.
Stopping when children are quite in a hiking carrier bag is sometimes not a good idea. As the child might not want to get back into the bag which can be hard when you are midway through the hike. In situations like that we let them walk a section themselves (if its safe to do so) and when they get tired we offer them their favourite snack (distracting them) while putting them back into the carrier. Then off we go again and they are happy out. Remember when hiking with children snacks are your best friend, that goes for us big kids too ;)
Climbing to the Devil’s Bit Cross
Above the holy cross statue, the trail takes a sharp left turn up towards the top of the hill. From here the walk becomes very steep and the trail becomes tight and slippy in sections. Our 4 year old loved the adventure of this section and she didn’t allow us to stop for breaks or carry her as all she wanted to do was climb her way to the top all by herself.
The climb through the rocks was tight in sections with small scrambling sections. We reach the summit and we were greeted with amazing views of the surrounding counties and mountains. We were very lucky with the weather as we were all able to sit at the top of the mountain and have lots of snacks.
How long is the Devil’s bit Cross?
- The Devil’s bit walk is 1.2km from the car park to the Cross on the Devil’s bit mountain.
- You have an option to continue on the Devils bit loop or turn around and walk back to the car. The Devils bit loop walk is 5km long but it does not go up to the cross or the top of the Devils bit mountain.
How long to climb the Devil’s bit Cross?
It took us 50 minutes to walk up to the Devil’s bit cross. This consisted of 2 breaks for snacks and a couple of butterfly chases and a round of hiding and seek.
Short Video of our Devils Bit Hike
Map of the Devils Bit
Our Verdict on the Devils Bit Hike
We absolutely loved this hike and so did the girls. The only advice we can give on this great family walk is to come early as we assume this is a very busy walk.
