Durrow Leafy Loops - Leafy Loop

I ran this trail on 2 consecutive Sundays in July-to break the journey from Cavan to West Cork..Lovely route, really well signposted, mix of forest/riverside, and hardly any road. A real pleasure! (That's why I came back and did it again!) A nice off road route for any runners out there looking for a half marathon distance :-)

My husband and I took an impromptu day off work and decided to do the Leafy Loop trail on a Beautiful sunny day when the children were in school. The trail is great and brought back childhood memories of roaming the countryside during long summer days. I would highly recommend this trail, the riverside walking is spectacular with dragonflies out in force. Bowes is a lovely cafe in Durrow to get takeaway picnic food and great coffee and cake when finished the hike.

Fabulous walk with something for everyone, you can make it as long or short as you want, beautiful forestry, well maintained tracks, some river side walks and some open countryside, definitely a place of tranquillity, a must if you are looking for somewhere to walk.

My wife and I did this trail, all 23kms of it, last Saturday. We are experienced walkers/hikers having done many in Connemara, the Burren, Wicklow, Kerry etc.This Hike is right up there with some of the best we've done.

Arrow markers are at the exact points they should be where there might have been confusion otherwise and also the fact there is brief instructions about what to do under the arrows is also a nice extra touch. This has not been the case in some other walks/hikes we've done.

The trail is well maintained with the smell of freshly cut grass very strong at some points. Also a notice giving us advanced warning that "some parts of the trail are under water" was very considerate although at no point along it did we encounter any flooding that day but you could easily see where certain places can flood.

The good variety of forest paths, roads, tracks etc along the route adds to the quality of the hike.

Leaping salmon, varieties of birds, butterflies and a squirrel showing off his climbing abilities on a tree, were just some of the nice wildlife we seen along the route.

A couple of minor things I might mention that could be done to improve the hike would be: that although the arrows were excellent I like to have route details/instructions with me in case an arrow isn't there etc.I had to go to the Discovery Ireland hiking site to get detailed instructions for this hike rather then being able to get them here at this site.

Another point would be that at the highest point of the hike, at Ballagh I think it is, that maybe the hedges could be cut back a bit so a nice view of the beautiful scenery could be seen better. We found ourselves having to try to peer through bushes and hedges to get a good look.

They are just 2 minor suggestions however as overall the hike is excellent and it is certainly an amenity that Durrow can be proud of. My wife and I highly recommend this hike to everyone and it's not a strenuous hike either so most people can do it. We'll be back:-).

Well done community of Durrow.. Fantastic walk from river bank views to amazing forests, very well kept and great signage with waymarkers where they're needed.



Long walk but wouldn't say it's a hard grade, did a day trip from Dublin and had lunch and dinner in the very friendly village which shows the efforts put into the walk can really help the local economy.

Went to walk this trail Sunday 10/5/14, after recent heavy rain the trail was waterlogged at beginning before footbridge and impassable. Advised by local and signs from durrow.ie of flooding. What we saw path was pretty mucky and slippy so best avoided after heavy rain.

Myself and a friend enjoyed walking the Leafy Loop so much that we did it three times last year and we intend to do it again this Spring to see the Bluebells in flower. We're experienced walkers and we rate this walk highly .

I walked the Durrow Leafy loop trail starting and finishing at Durrow Castle 4th May. This is a beautiful walking trail with varied terrain and scenery, The trail is well marked and well maintained. A big added bonus at the moment are the Bluebells which cover the floor of the forest. I have never seen so many in one place! Thank you Ann and Noleen for a memorable day's walking.

Did this walk on Sunday with some friends and it is a beautiful trail and well signposted. The bluebells were magnificent, I have never before seen such a sizeable area covered with bluebells. Although long, not a hard walk and very doable for all walkers. However, you do have to be careful crossing the main road. We got wonderful help and information about the area from Anne and Noeleen.

This is a great trail, and very well sign-posted. It has everything, with ascents and descents. I walked this on 29th March and there were a large amount of trees fallen on the trail. Hopefully these can removed soon. I do intend to walk it again.