Connemara Walking Holiday — 8 Days

A week of the best walking in Ireland begins tomorrow. Tonight, settle in.

Arrive in Oughterard, gateway to Connemara 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. Dinner in town — the early night is well earned.

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 quiet Maam Valley. Keane's pub at Maam Cross for the evening.

Distance: 18km. Ascent: ~200m.

The longest and finest walking day. 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 sheer to the left and the Maamturks continuing on the right. You walk the old coach road its full length, 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 and an atmosphere of quiet remoteness that is hard to find anywhere else.

Distance: 20km. Ascent: ~250m.

The final Western Way 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. You walk into Clifden in the early afternoon, with three more days ahead. EJ King's for a pint; Mitchell's for dinner.

Distance: 14km. Ascent: ~100m.

Morning transfer from Clifden to Connemara National Park at Letterfrack. The Diamond Hill loop climbs a well-made stone path to the quartzite summit at 442m. From the top: the full sweep of the Twelve Bens, Killary Fjord to the north — which you'll walk tomorrow — and the Atlantic islands to the west. The descent follows the mountain's western flank through open bog.

A 5km walk brings you to Kylemore Abbey on the shore of Kylemore Lough — a Victorian neo-Gothic castle now run by a Benedictine community, with a restored walled Victorian garden on the lakeshore. Lunch at Veldon's Seafarer in Letterfrack, then transfer back to Clifden.

Distance: 16km. Ascent: ~350m.

Transfer from Clifden to the southern shore of Killary Harbour — Ireland's only true fjord, a 15km glacial inlet cut between the Mweelrea Mountains to the north and the Maamturks to the south. The Green Road follows an old drove road along the fjord shore at water level, past mussel rafts floating in the still water, with the mountain slopes rising sheer on the far bank.

Tonight you stay at the Leenaun Hotel at the head of the fjord — Killary mussels farmed in the water directly below the hotel, served with soda bread. An evening in Gaynor's pub, with the fjord still and dark outside.

Distance: 18km. Ascent: minimal — the Green Road follows the fjord shore at water level.

Transfer from Leenaun back to Clifden for the morning's walking. The Sky Road loop climbs west out of Clifden onto the Atlantic headland — views of Inishbofin and Inishturk in the sea, the ruin of Clifden Castle on the headland, and the Twelve Bens rising behind the town on the return leg. One of the finest coastal walks in Ireland.

Afternoon transfer south to Roundstone, a small fishing village on its own quiet inlet — a harbour walk, the bog rising behind, the sea ahead. Late afternoon at O'Dowd's seafood pub: local crab, chowder, whatever came in that morning. Transfer back to Clifden for a final celebration dinner on your last evening in the west.

Distance: 18km (Sky Road 16km, Roundstone harbour walk 2km). Ascent: ~250m.

Last breakfast in Clifden, then your scheduled transfer back to Galway (approximately 1h 30m). You've walked 104km across one of the finest landscapes in Europe. Well done.