Category: History
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Europe, Feature, Guides, Hiking, History, Ireland, List, Long-Distance Hiking Trails, mourne mountains, Short Trails, Trail, uk, Uncategorized, Weekend Inspiration
The Best Walks in the Mourne Mountains
But for all that I found there I might as well be Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea. -William Percy French The Mourne mountains, the jewels of County Down that ‘sweep down to the sea’ hugs the Irish coastline in a compact region designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural…
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Slieve Donard: Four of the Best Hiking Trails
The highest mountain in the Mournes, and indeed all of Northern Ireland, is Slieve Donard (850m/2,789 feet). In ancient times, the mountain was known as Sliabh Slainge, named after Slanga, a Partholan prince of Grecian roots who came to these shores after the battle of Troy. Its summit cairn came to be known as ‘Slainges…
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Thru-hiking the 102-mile Cotswold Way
A true taste of the Cotswolds Beautifully distinctive honey-coloured stone, quaint villages that seem to have been frozen in time, traditional dry stone walls at every turn; picturesque pubs and manicured gardens with creeping roses… I think if you’d never been to England before this is what you would imagine it all to look like.…
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Cnoc na Péiste via Lough Googh Loop
These are my riches, these and the bright remembering Of ridge and buttress and sky-shouldering spire These I shall count, when I am old, of an evening, Siting by the fire. The MacGillycuddy’s Reeks, also known as Na Cruacha Dubha, or ‘the black stacks’ are home to the highest mountains in Ireland. Before the nineteenth…
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Europe, Feature, Guides, Hiking, History, Ireland, Long-Distance Hiking Trails, Short Trails, Trail, Weekend Inspiration, Wild
Mount Brandon Trail
Only a hill: earth set a little higher Above the face of the earth: a larger view Of little fields and roads: a little nigher To clouds and silence: what is it to you? Only a hill: but all of life to me, Up there, between the sunset and the sea. To really know a…
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Mount Brandon From Faha
On the brow of Brandon is mist, and rest from the racing sky: the rollers break upon Brandon, Brandon the blessed, and the seagulls cry. – Geoffrey Winthrop Young Mount Brandon (952m/3,123ft) or Cnoc Bréanainn is one of my favourite Irish summits. It is the highest point outside the chain of peaks that dominate the…
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Europe, Feature, Guides, Hiking, History, Ireland, List, Long-Distance Hiking Trails, Packing List, Short Trails, Trail, Weekend Inspiration, Wild
Prince Williams Seat Loop
Prince William’s Seat… now that’s a noble sounding hill. Some say the origin of its name is attributed to the visit of the English monarch King George IV in 1821 or William III around 130 years earlier. But a huge granite tor around a kilometre-and-a-half to the west of its summit might suggest otherwise. Known…
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Carrauntoohil Via O Shea’s Gully Loop
Thomas Gallwey I saw the summer sun go down behind the sea,And o’er the pale moon grow a golden light,From lonely Caran-tual’s topmost heightTowering aloft in cloudless majesty;The serried hills beneath seem in the nightLike billowy ocean, having in its mightAnd turned to stone; while far as eye can seeThe lengthening shadows o’ver the surface…
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Europe, Guides, Hiking, History, Ireland, Long-Distance Hiking Trails, Short Trails, Thru-hike, Trail
The Wicklow Way – Marlay Park to Knockree Trail
Town, forest, mountain peaks, rivers, and impressive views over Dublin; this trail is at the heart of Irish hiking and is a section of Ireland’s busiest trails. Being the first section of Ireland’s oldest way-marked trail, the 131km Wicklow Way, it’s certainly a bucket-list hike and a national treasure that many would argue is a…
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Omey Island Looped Walk
If you’re looking for a unique coastal walk with dramatic seascapes and an abundance of history, the Omey Island Looped Walk is the one. Discover the start of this enchanting 9-mile trail just 90 minutes west of Galway in the fishing village of Cleggan, County Galway, Ireland. The Hiiker route will lead you on an…
