Slieve Felim Way
The Slieve Felim Way is a 43km linear walking route through the counties of Limerick and Tipperary well away from the hustle and bustle of main roads. The route weaves its way from the village of Murroe through foothills and around Slieve Felim (422m), Keeper Hill (694m) and the Silvermine Mountains (475m) to finish at the former mining village of Silvermines. Near the southern end of the route and worth a visit is the Benedictine monastery of Glenstall Abbey. The terrain consists of quiet roads, forestry tracks and field paths: some wet stretches may be expected. The total aggregate ascent over the route is less than 900m, and there are no significant climbs, but there are some spectacular long views from the route, particularly along the northern section. There are not many options for public transport access or overnight accommodation along the route, so unless you intend covering the entire route in one go careful planning is needed. For more information follow external link to Shannon Region Trails - Slieve Felim Way
Facilities
Car parking At Start - on street in Murroe At End - on street in Silvermines
11 kms or 26% of the Way follows local roads.
Map Guides
Slieve Felim Way Walking Trail - Shannon Development - out of print
OSI Maps
Public Transportation
At Start: Limited bus service Check with Bus Eireann. At End: Very limited bus service Check with Bus Eireann.
Úna Ryan from Tipperary
Joan from Cork
We finished our day with a glorious swim at the nearby Clare Glens. A surprisingly good outing.
Bob from Limerick
Mark from Limerick
Neil from Dublin
45.1km and 1,379m vertical in total.
Day 1 - Murroe to Toor - 23.1km and 566m.
Day 2 - Toor to Silvermines - 22.0km and 813m.
We found a great place to camp in the middle of Toor with flat ground, tables, chairs, benches, bins, fire pit and trail info. There is a little pub immediately in front of the Church. No sign or name over the door, look for an old Harp sticker on the window. There are toilets there and they are happy to fill up your water bottles.
Really enjoyable trail, very well sign posted, not too much hiking on roads. A few fallen trees but easy to pass under them.
Thomas from Limerick
Barry from Limerick
The way markers are all there. Make sure to have a map with you for reassurance.
Enjoy.
Jan Hayes from Limerick
Toor to Rear Cross is also very good, more comfortable to do in the drier season. The beginning and the end of this stretch is subject to muddier and wetter terrain so be prepared if you're planning on going during the winter.
The 1.6km stretch on the R503 ruined the overall experience, it was a reasonably busy road at the time and I counted at least a dozen trucks going through this section. In my opinion, this stretch is far too dangerous and needs to be made more hiking friendly, or the route should be rearranged to avoid the R503 altogether.
From Rear Cross to Murroe is ok, halfway on the path you do get a nice view from the Slieve Felims. 99% of the Glenstal Woods section feels like you're only seeing Sitka Spruce. Once exiting Glenstal Woods, the map route takes you through Garranebane, we veered off the path and went straight through Glenstal Abbey instead which is a nicer route to experience than what the map suggested. I would have preferred to take a different route that would have me end up in Clare Glens.
Overall a pretty good experience but I think it could with some improvements with signage and safety in the Rear Cross section.