Ireland Hiking Vacation From Dublin to Dingle

Ireland, the land of leprechauns, Guinness and lush green landscapes, hadn’t been on my list of must-see places until friends asked my husband, Jeff, and me if we wanted to go on a hiking vacation across Ireland. The trip, sponsored by Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) Adventures, was a 10-day expedition from the east coast in Dublin to the country’s westernmost shores at Dingle.

We’ve been on many daylong hiking excursions in the Southern Appalachians—a far cry from the ruggest coastlines of the Emerald Isle—so I was initially worried about whether we were really hiking all the way across Ireland. My questions were easily answered by REI (part of the trip would indeed be covered in a minibus), and we were ready to go.

Dublin and Its Environs

The four of us began our Irish adventure with a soggy afternoon in Dublin, visiting Trinity College and examining the Book of Kells and the Long Room (library). What a fascinating collection of rare works!

Our accommodations at the Castle Hotel were adequate and included a full Irish breakfast of eggs, ham, black and white pudding, and beans (similar to our pork ‘n beans).

 

• The author and her husband pose with the beautiful Ireland coastline behind them.

Jan Swoope

Here we met Tim Cookingham, our trip tour guide, and our tour mates, nine other Americans from Washington, California, Colorado, Idaho and Pennsylvania. Tim, an REI Adventure Top Guide award recipient, gave us an overview of the trip and told us what to expect: Some days would be “tennis shoe days” (very few) and other days would be “hiking boot days” (most days). Most of our accommodations would be in bed and breakfasts.

Bray and Powerscourt

For our first outing, Tim drove us to Bray, outside Dublin, in our 18-passenger bus—our transport for the trip. Here we had a drizzly five-mile cliff-walk hike, from Bray to Greystones where we were introduced to the prickly, but beautiful golden gorse shrub. Afterwards, rather than hike back to Bray in the rain, we rode on the very efficient Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART).

The next day, we visited Powerscourt House & Gardens, which boasts a magnificent variety of gardens including Italian terraces and the Walled Garden dating to 1740 . Afterwards we were off to Glendalough, the valley between two lakes in Wicklow Mountains National Park where we began our first major hike: nine miles long. It was spectacular to climb over rocky terrain to the summit and along the ridgeline, admiring how far we had come. Note: Walking sticks are recommended.

Kilkenny, Cork and Killarney

We drove farther west the next day, and stopped at Avoca Mills, Ireland’s oldest weaving mill. We were surprised to learn that most Irish wool comes from New Zealand. We then traveled to the charming city of Kilkenny and had lunch on the grounds of Kilkenny Castle, where we watched school children laughing and playing soccer, and many Irish families enjoying the blue-sky day.

 

• The buildings at the Rock of Cashel date from the 12th and 13th centuries.

Shadowgate

That evening, we bunked in luxury at Auber House in Cashel, a town wrapped in Irish history and vistas. An early morning walk to Castle Rock and Hore Abbey was straight out of a picture book, featuring ancient ruins framed by green grass and sleeping cattle.

The Beara Peninsula

We visited Cahir Castle in County Tipperary—one of the largest and best preserved castles in Ireland, according to our castle guide. It was built in the 13th century, and is located by the River Suir in the town of Cahir. The castle got its name from the word cathair, meaning “stone fort.”

We then drove to the Beara Peninsula, and Tim stopped in Cork at a sports bar to watch the hurling championship game between County Tipperary and County Cork on the television. Hurling is a team sport of Gaelic origin and is the world’s fastest sport in terms of team play. We watched but didn’t understand it, though we did understand the Guinness.

Castletownebere, the largest Irish harbor, would be home for the next two days as we explored the Beara Peninsula (and the famous McCarthy’s Bar where Murphy’s had now supplanted Guinness as the beer of choice). We stayed at Summer Hill Bed & Breakfast, which frankly wasn’t quite finished so the accommodations were rather spartan.