Offaly Walking

Slieve Bloom Village and Heritage Route
All outdoor lovers will appreciate a visit to the Slieve Blooms as they offer breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside and on a clear cloud free day you can see the four highest points of each of Ireland’s four provinces. They are rich in flora and fauna and as many as sixty five different bird species have been sighted here. They are cloaked in a fascinating tapestry woven by nature and then worked by humankind over thousands of years. Forestation may be the predominating feature nowadays and the many glens are alive with the sigh of trees, the rush of water, the sound of birdsong and the bark of deer.

A mere hundred years ago, these same glens sustained many families, who tried to make a living as small farmers, by quarrying rock and saving turf.

The Slieve Bloom Way is a village and heritage route that makes a circuit of The Slieve Blooms in Counties Laois and Offaly. It is 43 miles in length and ascends 5000 feet.

Starting from Portlaoise, take the N80 to Mountmellick. In 1659 a small group of Quakers settled here and over the next century they played a big part in transforming a sleepy village in the bend of the Owenass River into “The Manchester of Ireland” By the early 1800’s the town was a centre of textile production and its factories also produced glue, starch, snuff and candles among other goods. Canal barges took the town wares throughout Ireland and brought shoppers back to its fine streets. Today’s Mountmellick fine buildings and historical sites are identified on its heritage trail, which is signposted throughout the town.

There is also a museum here that tells the story of Mountmellick’s rich Quaker and industrial history. It also showcases Mountmellick Work, a uniquely Irish form of embroidery that developed in the 1800’s to enable local women to support themselves.

Turn left and continue down the Main St until you see a sign (on your left) to Rosenallis. Three miles north-west of Mountmellick you will find the Rosenallis Quaker Burial Ground, known locally as The Friends Sleeping place.

Glinsk Castle Loop
Situated close to the geographical centre of Ireland, the Slieve Bloom region links the counties of Laois and Offaly and is made up of forests, blanket bog of a type which is unique to Ireland, and hidden valleys which will be of interest to lovers of archaeology and nature. In 2007, a series of looped walks were developed at various trailheads in the region following a mix of forest tracks, riverbanks, old roadways, and grassy trails. There are a few rough and rugged sections – but they rarely rise to high altitude and do not demand great stamina. This loop is one of three which start and finish at the Kinnitty Forest trailhead – key features include the grounds of Kinnitty Castle (now a hotel), the ruins of Glinsk Castle, and spectacular broadleaf woodlands.

A-B. Start from the trailhead at the forestry entrance. After 30m keep left at the Y-junction of forestry roads following the blue arrow. You are also following a green arrow for the shorter Kinnitty Castle Loop and yellow arrow for the long-distance Slieve Bloom Way. After a little more than 1km you reach a 3-way junction with a wooden gate on your left. Through the wooden gate will take you into the grounds of Kinnitty Castle – well worth a visit.

B-C. Your loop turns right here, and continues to ascend along a forest road for almost 1km before rounding a right bend and reaching a Y-junction. Veer to the right here.

C-D. After 500m turn left onto an uphill woodland trail – the shorter green loop continues straight on here. You follow the blue arrow and the Slieve Bloom Way.

D-E. This path takes you through mature woodlands to exit on a forestry road where you turn right. About 200m afterwards you turn left at a 3-way junction and, almost immediately, veer left again at another junction. You are still also on the Slieve Bloom Way.

E-F. Climb the hill and, after 500m take a right at a junction. After 600m you leave the Slieve Bloom Way – taking a right turn onto a faint woodland trail to the ruins of Glinsk Castle (stone pillars and walls).

F-G. Follow the trail through the pillars, over the brow of the hill, and downhill through trees to join a forest road. Turn right here and after 200m turn left onto a downhill forestry track. The forestry trail merges with a forestry road where you rejoin the Slieve Bloom Way – turn right and follow the road around a corner to reach a woodland track where you turn left.

G-A. Enjoy the downhill journey through magnificent mature trees to exit onto a forestry road – the trailhead is only 50m on your left.

Paul’s Lane Loop
Situated close to the geographical centre of Ireland, the Slieve Bloom region links the counties of Laois and Offaly and is made up of forests, blanket bog of a type which is unique to Ireland, and hidden valleys which will be of interest to lovers of archaeology and nature. In 2007, a series of looped walks were developed at various trailheads in the region following a mix of forest tracks, riverbanks, old roadways, and grassy trails. There are a few rough and rugged sections – but they rarely rise to high altitude and do not demand great stamina. This loop is one of two which start and finish at the car park in the village of Cadamstown (the other is the Nature Trail Loop marked with green arrows). The village which sits on the banks of the Silver River was at one time home to Charles O’Carroll whose grandson was a signatory of the Declaration of American Independence in 1776. It is rich in archaeology – boasting Bronze Age burials and ring forts amongst them. And the old mill is well worth a visit.
A-B. Starting from the Village Car Park in Cadamstown village, turn right onto what was the Coach Road that passes on the right of Dempsey’s pub. You are following blue arrows. Pass the signpost for the Nature Trail and follow the Coach Road for almost 1km to reach an old laneway on your right – known locally as Paul’s Lane. Turn right here.

B-C. Follow this wonderful old laneway uphill for almost 1km to exit at a gateway near a group of derelict houses – this was the village of Bordingstown.

C-D. Immediately after the houses you turn right and follow the blue arrows downhill on an old laneway. Pass through a gateway and veer right to reach a swinging (kissing) gate – this has been erected to allow access to an old mass path. Do not enter the gate but continue downhill to reach a small stream known locally as Purcell’s Brook. Here you join both the Slieve Bloom Way (yellow arrows) and Nature Trail Loop (green arrows) for the remainder of your loop back to Cadamstown.

D-E. Follow the laneway downhill to reach a gateway at a beautiful weir on the Silver River. Turn right here.

E-A. Cross a small stile and join the bank of the spectacular Silver River. Enjoy the beautiful scenery as you pass rushing waters for almost 1km before ascending to a wooden stile and entering farmland. Turn left here onto a farm laneway – follow it downhill for almost 200m to reach a concrete stile. As you exit the farm, the trailhead and village are to your left.

Kinnitty Castle Loop
Situated close to the geographical centre of Ireland, the Slieve Bloom region links the counties of Laois and Offaly and is made up of forests, blanket bog of a type which is unique to Ireland, and hidden valleys which will be of interest to lovers of archaeology and nature. In 2007, a series of looped walks were developed at various trailheads in the region following a mix of forest tracks, riverbanks, old roadways, and grassy trails. There are a few rough and rugged sections – but they rarely rise to high altitude and do not demand great stamina. This loop is one of three which start and finish at the Kinnitty Forest trailhead – key features include the grounds of Kinnitty Castle (now a hotel) and spectacular broadleaf woodlands.

A-B. Start from the trailhead at the forestry entrance. After 30m keep left at the Y-junction of forestry roads following the green arrow. You are also following the blue arrows of the Glinsk Castle loop, and the yellow arrows for the long-disatnce Slieve Bloom Way. After a little more than 1km you reach a 3-way junction with a wooden gate on your left. [Going through the wooden gate will take you into the grounds of Kinnitty Castle – well worth a visit.]

B-C. Your loop turns right (uphill) here, and continues to ascend along a forest track for almost 1km before rounding a right bend and reaching a Y-junction. Veer to the right here – still following the Slieve Bloom Way and the red and green loops.

C-D. After 500m the blue loop and Slieve Bloom Way turn left onto an uphill woodland trail – but you continue straight on here.

D-E. Continue to follow the forest track downhill to reach a 3-way junction – veer right here.

E-A. It is only 300m back to the trailhead.

The Offaly Way
The Offaly Way is a 29 kilometre linear walking route in the midlands of Ireland that links the Slieve Bloom Way at the old village of Cadamstown with the Grand Canal Way and ends a few kilometres north of the canal at the ancient monastic site of Lemanaghan. This short route takes in a rich collection of features that will ensure many walkers will want to linger along the way, including the scenic Silver River and an old bridge that Red Hugh O’Donnell’s army is said to have crossed en route to the Battle of Kinsale in 1601, a rare Mesolithic site at Boora, and St Manchan’s holy well and St Mella’s Cell, a tiny early Christian church at Lemanaghan. The terrain consists of mainly quiet side roads and a couple of riverbank paths that are often wet and muddy in places. There is a shortage of overnight accommodation in the area, but Cadamstown is served by public transport. There are two or three loop walks in Boora Parkland including one which is wheelchair friendly. There are also in the area. In this area there are a number of recreational projects and amenities, and experiments are being carried out on how to best use the landscape that has been stripped of its peat.

The Silver River EcoWalk Loop
The Silver River is a very special place from a geological viewpoint, because along its course you will find one of the finest rock exposures in the whole of Slieve Bloom.

The Old Red Sandstone can be seen in a splendid, almost continuous section along the river both below and above the village. About 660m upriver from the village of Cadamstown the lowest beds of the Old Red Sandstone are beautifully exposed in a 12m high cliff section. Upstream from this cliff the contact between the Old Red Sandstone and the underlying Silurian rocks is exposed, and above this the Silurian rocks themselves are well exposed in the river bed.

If you follow the river downstream from the village you will eventually reach the point where the Old Red Sandstone is overlain by the lowest shales of the succeeding Lower Carboniferous period of earth history.

The glens that radiate out from Slieve Bloom are post-glacial in age. The new streams first cut through the deep blanket of soft glacial till and then exploited lines of weakness in the underlying rock, removing loose blocks and tending to follow the prominent joints in the bedrock.

The Slieve Bloom Way
Although their highest point, called Arderin or ‘the height of Ireland’, is at 527 m, the isolated range of the Slieve Bloom Mountains have a presence that belies their height. They stand alone in Ireland’s Central Plain, which means they can be seen for many miles around and the views from their heights are very extensive. The Slieve Bloom Way, a 77 km circuit of the range, crosses high, heathery ridges and dips down into many deep and beautiful glens through which streams flow, hidden landscapes as full of character as they are of stories and legends. The range is heavily forested with modern conifers which lends much of the route good terrain on forestry roads but means long sections have little outlook. Generally terrain consists of forestry tracks, tarmac roads, mostly quiet, and paths beside streams and over open moorland, some of which can be wet and muddy. Apart from in Kinnity, there is no accommodation available on the actual route, but there are towns and villages of considerable character strung around the range, some quite close to the route, that provide overnight accommodation. The total aggregate ascent over the route is 1275m, but there are no significant climbs.