Scenic Walks and Hiking Killaloe Printer Friendly

Scenic Walks and Hiking in Killaloe

The Glen Walk
(Marked with blue arrows)

24 km 6 hrs

From the bridge of Killaloe walk past St. Flannan's Cathedral and take the first turn right. Continue straight ahead
for about 1.5 km and turn right at the fingerpost marked 'Garraunboy Church 2km. On reaching the church, built
in 1909, one can view the Silvermine mountains of Tipperary to the east. Continue walking straight ahead. Soon
the road descends gradually into the Glen area. Ahead is the forested Lackareagh mountain. Wild flowers and
fuschia grow in profusion along the roadside ditches here.

Continue by the Gap road which crosses the foothills of the Slieve Bernagh mountain range of East Clare. There
is mature forestry to the left of the road. To the right is a lovely view of the hills and glens with Clare's highest
mountain, Moylussa (532m.), to the north looming over all. Outside of the forest the main vegetation along here is
heather, furze and hazel. The geological formation of the adjacent hills is mainly sandstone and slate with glacial
drifts of boulder clay and gravel in the valleys.

The road leads down, through undulating countryside into the village of Kilbane, and the beautiful valley of
Glenomera. The first shop on the route, Gunning's Bar and Grocery, is here.

Take the road to the left, leaving Kilbane post office on the right hand side. The distance from here to Bridgetown
is 6km and midway on the left is the Roadstone Quarry of Ballyquin. On reaching Bridgetown continue walking
through the village - the church will be on the right hand side. This stretch of the road is part of Sarsfield's Ride
route. Having walked about 8Km you will rejoin the outward stretch of the Glen Walk at the "Garraunboy Church"
sign 2Km from Killaloe. Continue straight ahead into the town.

The Lackareagh Walk
(Marked with red arrows)

15 km 3.75 hrs

Follow the Glen Walk route for a distance of 6 km as far as the Gap Road. There take a turn to the left. This area
is known as Lackareagh, a Gaelic word meaning 'the grey hillside'. A forest plantation covers the upper reaches
of the hill. The scattered farms and the small fields which can be seen from the road are typical of East Clare.
This was once a populous area but the Great Famine of the 1840's and later emigration have denuded the land
of its people. Continue straight ahead along this road until it joins the Glen Walk at the T-junction. Turn left here
and follow the directions for the Glen Walk back to Killaloe.

The Garraunboy Walk
(Marked with green arrows)

7 km 1.75 hrs

Travel the Glen Walk route as far as Garraunboy church. There turn to the right along the road signposted
'Sarsfield's Ride 1690'. This 1 km stretch of road has an abundance of plant life in its ditches. Two clear
mountain streams cross the road. The first 'Sruthan Seantach an Aifrinn' or 'stream of the Old Mass House' takes
its name from a penal chapel which stood in a field on the left hand side. The other, 'Ballyteige River', sometimes
called 'Kay River' runs parallel with the road for 200m. Take the right turn at the cross roads for Killaloe. This last
stretch affords a fine view over the town to the Tipperary mountains. The highest peak to the left is Tountinna
(461m), while immediately ahead is Keeper Hill (693m).