Walks in Clare/the Burren

In Ennis for the weekend. Might do a few hours walk and get some fresh air. The county seems pretty devoid of any hills, or at least any that get a strong recommendation on mountainviews.ie, anyone know of a good route around the Burren, maybe 3 hours or so?

pab_lowe

The county seems devoid of hills???...hmmmmmmmmm
Do you know your way around Clare? If you head out to the Burren via ennis, corofin, kilnaboy, you can make your way to the foot of Mullaghmore. There is a new marked walkway to the top and back down from there. If you are adventurous, you could continue on for hours are there are a number of peaks north from there within plain sight. Make sure to wear good footwear and clothing as the limestone pavement is uneven and can have stone that moves or tilts as you walk on it. Walk to the top and back should be 2 hours but you can do more as I said.
Cratloe woods has an easy stroll through the trees on forest road and track. Not the most exciting.
Ballycuggern opposite 2 mile gate on the ogonnoloe side of Killaloe offers good hill and forest walks.
Fanore, excellent challenging hike starting opposite the campsite (beside the church which takes in any number of hills in the north west corner and which overlooks galway bay...beautiful scenery. Can be 2 hours to 10 hours depending on route, map needed.
Always dress appropriately and bring food and water
Let me know if you need any more advice

pab_lowe

pab_lowe wrote: »

The county seems devoid of hills???...hmmmmmmmmm

Sorry, prob has loads of them. Not many peaks 400m on the mountainviews site!

Thanks a lot for all those pointers. The Mullaghmore and Fanore ones sound particularly good, scenery is the main aim. Will google more info on them.

Now just pray for good weather and have to let the wife know it's not gonna be a 'stay in Ennis shopping' weekend and we're off!

pab_lowe

no bother, glad to help. The views are pretty good but you're right, the weather will always help. Depending on your schedule, the coast road drive from Lisdoonvarna to Fanore is well well worth while as you will see some rugged coastline and even in bad weather it will look spectacular. If you finish in Fanore and want to continue about 15 km on to Ballyvaughan, there is great seafood in Monks restaurant.

hmmm

Mullaghmore would be my choice for an easy 2/3 hours. It's a small hill and will be no challenge to an experienced hillwalker but it's located up a really quiet road so you can just stroll around the general area. I'd class the scenery as "different" rather than particularly beautiful

emanresu

Burren Peaks Walking Festival is on from 25th to 27th September.
You may not be around for that or interested in taking part, but you could check out the information about various walks on the website to get ideas for yourself.
http://burrenpeakswalkingfestival.com/
http://burrenpeakswalkingfestival.com/h_0.html

Thanks again for all the help and pointers. Really helpful.

One last question. Will try and take in the Aran islands, or Inishmore anyway on one of the days, and walking on the other. How far is Ennis to Doolin time wise?

Again, thanks for all the help. Sadly wasn't able to look at any of the suggestions. Took a daytrip out to the Aran islands, specifically Inishmore, on Saturday, and because we managed to miss the last ferry back it turned into an overnight stay - luckily the guesthouses weren't booked out. Incredible place, and did a lot of walking and cycling out there, got to see the two big promontory forts and the wormhole.

Plan to go back in a few weeks to do the Mullaghmore walk.