Slieve Bloom Way

If you want a trail that gives you a unique feel of our wild midland bogs, the Slieve Bloom range beautiful rivers edge wildlife, then please go and try this circuit.

The help and advice available here and on the phone (Thanks especially to Mark and Ann in the Laois Partnership group) was above and beyond. You can't beat a chat with someone who knows the sections, and can advise on the all important ability required to tackle each section (please do take heed on fitness required etc). I don't think you'll get the kind of contact and advice we got, on many other trails. Thank you.

We did the whole trail, anti clockwise in 2.5 days.



It was tough but worth it, you will find great natural sights and rewarding views, camping spots are easy to find if you plan your trip close to water sources etc. It's not easy to do it in a short timeframe, especially if you are carrying your load, so make sure you are fit or plan an extra day.



Less entertaining part is a long walk on a regional road after Glenregan, for us this was on the 2nd day. I kinda wish that is something which could be changed.



Signs are everywhere - we nearly never needed our maps, that's the easy part! You don't meet many people at all, so great for mindfulness.

Saturday 16th January 2016.

A group of ten from the Blue Moon Ramblers did a 10 mile circuit from Castleconor to Kinnitty Castle. Despite very cold/wet/wintery conditions we had a very pleasurable walk. A lovely part of hidden Ireland.The path was well marked with a gentle terrain on this stretch. Allowing for the weather conditions we had a very welcome break in the charming Kinnitty Castle. The talk is of going back to do further sections of the route.

Thanks to Ann Lanigan & Mark Clancy from the Laois partnership for their help and assistance.

My girlfriend and I did this trail two weeks ago. We started in Glenbarrow and walked in clockwise direction. Because we camped along the way, we were quite heavy loaded and so we walked it in three days. Although we did spare some kilometres by taking a shortcut from Glenregan straight to Cadamstown, bypassing Kinnity. There we could then use our saved time to drink a pint in the pub.



We did really like the trail! The view and scenery is beautiful, especially on the Ridge of Capard! The forests are beautiful as well, and the woods around the Giant's Tomb look as if they came straight out of a fairytale. The trail differs from dry gravel roads to soggy forest paths and fields. There are some stretches of tarmac road, but not too many. Be sure to take insect spray with you as there can be some nasty mosquitoes in dry and calm weather along the way!



The terrain is waymarked well, but there are some places where 'the yellow man' doesn't stand out too much in the vegetation. Especially at dusk you will have to keep your eyes wide open. On the gravel road from Moanameny to Monicknew there is one marker damaged at a crossroad and it isn't really clear which direction to take without the detailed map (2).



We didn't really see many people along the way, but those who we saw were very friendly and helpful! A bit like the rest of Ireland, or what we saw, I suppose. A special big thank you to Ann Lanigan for helping us at the last possible moment and getting us the ride and info we needed!



Best regards,



Thomas & Agaat

Did this trail a month and a half ago. I enjoyed this trail so much that I think to do it again. Saw many wild animals during the way. My personal favourite place was Silver River near to Cadamstown. All trail is well signed and it's almost impossible to get lost even without map.

I completed this trail twice recently, once on Easter Saturday and once the following Saturday. It's a fantastic trail, well signposted with an impressive variety of scenery and terrain and very little road walking.

By running the descents, I was able to complete the trail om my second attempt in just over 10 hrs, averaging 7km per hour over the whole trail.

The weather was fine on both days but there were a few hail showers on the second Saturday. One was heavy (hail, sleet and even snow!) while I was crossing the very muddy Ridge of Capard.

Once again, I found the signposting around Monicknew to be confusing, with one marker (on the way towards Capard) sending the walker up steps, over fallen trees and into a jungle!

All in all, a great experience. I'll be back to do it again with some runner friends later in the summer. Is it possible to do it in 8 hrs? Is there any official record?



Dermot

This trail has been on my doorstep for years but I only got around to walking it this year.

A group of us completed it in two and a half days. We started in Clonaslee and walked to Kinnity on day 1, then Kinnity to Glenbarrow on day 2 and Glenbarrow to Clonaslee on the last day.

It is a really nice trail filled with a mix of terrain, my favourite stretch was probably between Monicknew and Glenbarrow as the views from the Ridge of Cappard are pretty impressive. The trail is really well waymarked and easy to follow

This year I did the Slieve Bloom Way again. I must be honest, last year I did not complete the trail because of the bad weather. Now I have seen all of it, I have to say it is the best trail I have done in Ireland!



The help of Ann was as allways great! Thank you for that! Again!



If you go with a tent, you should definitely make a stop in Kinnity. The pub of John has been extended by a tent pitch. For those who are not taking a tent, you can

I've just completed the Slieve Bloom Way in the last two days of 2014. I consider it to be one of the best of the Irish trails. The waymarking is excellent (apart from some missing posts around Monicknew which got me seriously lost for a while). There's great variety in the scenery and terrain and the very small number of people I met were extremely friendly and helpful.



I started at Glenbarrow and made it to Cadamstown on the first day, where I camped on the village green in -5 degrees. A few pints in Fitzpatrick's pub warmed me up. The next day I had a longer hike and ended up finishing the last 5km in the dark. The stretch across the Ridge of Cappard was challenging especially as the ground was frozen and there was an icy wind.



My favourite stretch was the beautiful riverside walks at Glenbarrow, Clonaslee and Cadamstown. It was wonderful to see how well maintained were the pathways and boardwalks. It was great also to see all the looped walks available too.



It would be great to see official 'campers welcome' signs in Kinnity, Cadamstown and Clonaslee. I couldn't afford hotel accommodation and enjoy camping but I wasn't sure if it was ok to camp.

In January this year I did the Slieve Bloom Way in Ireland. Maybe not the best time of the year to hike this trail but I really enjoyed it. The weather was extremely bad, but so I could really experience the typical 'Irish weather'! Rain, sun, hail, sun, snow storm, sun, ... And all that on one day. This trail has lots of variety of forest and open plain, little paved roads, streams, waterfalls, ... very nice! Good footwear is a must! We passed some locals along the trail, stopped for a few pints in the pub of John Clendennen, and I must say that everybody was very friendly and helpfull!



I'd like to mention that there is no better guide than Ann Lanigan of the tourist information centre! She was a great help before, during and after the walk. She arranged we could camp in the wild, picked us up at the station, brought us to the start point of the trail and walked with us to get us on the right track. Her enthusiasm knows no limits!! Thanks a lot Ann and maybe I'll come back when the sun is shining! :-)