Connemara Walking Holiday — 5 Days

Tomorrow the walking begins. Tonight, settle in.

Arrive in Oughterard, the gateway town on the eastern shore of Lough Corrib. From Galway it's about 45 minutes by car or bus. We send detailed public-transport instructions in your pre-departure pack — Citylink and Bus Éireann both run frequent services from Galway. If you'd prefer a private transfer from Galway, Shannon or Dublin, we can arrange one as an optional extra.

Collect your route notes, GPS files and maps from reception. Oughterard has a good butcher's, a couple of pubs, and a river running through the centre that holds brown trout — someone is usually fishing it from the bridge. Dinner in town; the early night is well earned by what's coming tomorrow.

The Western Way leaves Oughterard heading north-west — first along the shore of Lough Corrib, then climbing gently onto open moorland. The Maamturk Mountains rise to your right; ahead, the land opens into blanket bog. Connemara ponies graze in the middle distance; black-faced sheep ignore you completely.

The trail drops into the Maam Valley, a quiet enclosure of mountain and river. Maam itself is barely a settlement — a crossroads, a few houses, and the welcome sight of your B&B. Keane's pub at Maam Cross is a short walk for the evening, a classic country pub that hasn't changed much in decades.

Distance: 18km. Ascent: ~200m.

The longest day, and the finest. The trail climbs from Maam onto the shoulder of the Maamturk Mountains, crossing open mountain bog with wide views back toward Lough Corrib. Then the descent into the Inagh Valley — a long glacial corridor with the Twelve Bens rising sheer to the left and the Maamturks holding the skyline to the right.

The old coach road runs the length of the valley and you walk it almost entirely alone. The mountains are close enough to feel massive; the valley floor wide enough to see the full sweep of them. At the far end of the valley is Recess, and your accommodation for the night — Lough Inagh Lodge, a Victorian fishing lodge on the lakeshore surrounded by the Twelve Bens, with a serious kitchen. The setting at dusk — mountains reflected in the lough — is worth the stage on its own.

Distance: 20km. Ascent: ~250m.

The final walking day follows the route of the old Galway–Clifden railway line across the last stretch of blanket bog before the Atlantic. The abandoned track makes a gentle, perfectly graded path through open moorland — bog cotton in June, purple heather in September. You walk it easily, with time to notice the small things.

The first sight of the sea comes around midday. The land drops slowly toward the coast and you walk into Clifden — the capital of Connemara — in the early afternoon. Time to find your room, clean up, and explore the town at leisure. EJ King's for a first pint; Mitchell's for dinner. Both are reliably good, and you've earned them.

Distance: 14km. Ascent: ~100m.

Last breakfast in Clifden, then your scheduled transfer back to Galway (approximately 1h 30m). Most walkers leave already thinking about the 6-day version — which adds Diamond Hill and Kylemore Abbey. We'll keep a place for you.