Connemara Walking Holiday — 6 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. If you'd prefer a private transfer, we can arrange one as an optional extra.

Collect your route notes, GPS files and maps from reception. Oughterard has good pubs and a fishing river running through the centre. Dinner in town.

The Western Way leaves Oughterard along the shore of Lough Corrib, then climbs onto open moorland with the Maamturk Mountains rising to the right. Blanket bog, Connemara ponies, black-faced sheep. The trail drops into the Maam Valley — a quiet mountain enclosure — and into the small settlement of Maam. Keane's pub at Maam Cross is the evening destination.

Distance: 18km. Ascent: ~200m.

The longest day, and the finest. The trail climbs from Maam onto the shoulder of the Maamturks, then descends into the Inagh Valley — a long glacial corridor with the Twelve Bens rising steeply to the left and the Maamturks continuing on the right. The old coach road runs the length of the valley and you walk it almost entirely alone.

Overnight at Lough Inagh Lodge in Recess — 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 stage follows the route of the old Galway–Clifden railway line across open blanket bog — a gentle, perfectly graded track with the Atlantic glinting in the distance. The first sight of the sea comes around midday, and you walk into Clifden in the early afternoon.

Two nights here — tonight to explore the town, tomorrow for Diamond Hill. EJ King's for a pint; Mitchell's for dinner.

Distance: 14km. Ascent: ~100m.

A morning transfer from Clifden to the trailhead at Connemara National Park near Letterfrack. The Diamond Hill loop climbs a well-made stone path to the quartzite summit at 442m — a steep but clear ascent with an extraordinary reward. From the top: the full sweep of the Twelve Bens to the east, Killary Fjord to the north, the Atlantic islands — Inishbofin, Inishturk — stretching west. The descent follows the mountain's western flank back through open bog.

From the park, a 5km walk brings you to Kylemore Abbey on the shore of Kylemore Lough — a Victorian neo-Gothic castle built in 1868, now home to a Benedictine community. The restored walled Victorian garden on the lakeshore is one of the finest kitchen gardens in Ireland; arriving on foot gives you the building in landscape rather than car park. Lunch at Veldon's Seafarer in Letterfrack, then transfer back to Clifden.

Distance: 16km (7km Diamond Hill loop, 5km to Kylemore, return). Ascent: ~350m.

Last breakfast in Clifden, then your scheduled transfer back to Galway (approximately 1h 30m). If you'd like to stay on and add the Killary Fjord day, the 7-day tour is the natural next step.