FOUR SEASONS WALKING FESTIVALannual
Location: Connemara, County Galway, Connacht, Ireland
Time of the year: March, June, October, December
Duration: 3 days each season
Number of Walks:
1st edition: 2011/2012
2011 edition: 17th - 19th June, 21th - 23th October, 27th - 29th December 2011
2011 edition programme:
17th - 19th June - Twelve Bens Mountains and on Inisbofin Island.
Friday, 17 June – Talk by Michael Gibbons on the cultural, archaeological and historic heritage features of the 2 days walks. Venue: Station House Theatre at 8.00pm.
Saturday 18 June – Twelve Bens Walk
Following breakfast in your hotel, make your way to the starting point for the days walking (driving directions will be provided by hotel staff). The walk will commence at 10.00am
Sunday 19 June – Inisbofin Island Walk
Following breakfast in your hotel, make your way to the Inishbofin Ferry departure point on Cleggan Pier. Departure at 11.30am. Return ferry from Inisbofin at 4.00pm.
21th - 23th October - Omey Island & Roundstone Bog with hiking in the Connemara National Park.
Friday October 21
Talk hosted by Michael Gibbons.
Location: Station House Theatre, Clifden Station House. Time: 8pm.
Saturday October 22
Inisbofin – Island of the white cow
Easy to moderate walking along small roads, open bog and mountain.
Duration: five hours Walk Grade: Easy to moderate
Departs Cleggan Pier: Meeting at 11.10am, ferry departs at 11.30am sharp.
Sunday October 23
Diamond Hill
Meeting point: The walk starts from the archway at the visitor centre in the Connemara National Park
Duration: Three and a half hours - moderate hike. Harder option is five to six hours.
Walk grade: Moderate to difficult walking. (Steep in places.)
27th - 29th December - Western Way and along Killary Harbour, and also East End on Inishbofin Island.
Location: Station House Theatre, Clifden Station House.
Time: 8.30pm
Thursday December 29:Errisbeg Mountain
Errisbeg is a beautiful peat covered mountain of igneous rock wedged between the wild lake lands of Roundstone Bog and the Atlantic Ocean. The walking is on rough ground but you're rewarded with three peaks to climb and expansive views - to the northwest is High Island, with Slyne Head lighthouse to the far west. The Twelve Bens Mountains dominate the view to the north, and to the south lies an assortment of islands, including the famous pilgrimage Island of St. Macdara. Further south still, on a clear day the great holy mountain of Mount Brandon pokes its head above the ocean swells.
Edging Errisbeg are the beautiful beaches of Dog's Bay and Gurteen, where an ancient village was uncovered from the sands before being covered over again in a mighty storm.
Duration: 3-5 hours
Walk Grade: Moderate
Requirements: Boots (good ankle support mandatory) / wetgear / water / energy snacks / camera (optional).
Meeting Point: Site of the disused quarry, south west side of Errisbeg Hill, 9 miles drive from Clifden, 3 miles from Roundstone (map will be issued), 10.30am
Friday December 30: Omey Island
Omey, a tidal island accessible on foot, is a wonderful island of rock and sand and a spiritual place with secret monastic sites. Omey is home to less than twenty people now, but its many archaeological sites are evidence of a once thriving community, its history mirroring the many waves of change throughout the millenia. St. Feichin founded a monastery here and his Holy Well is still venerated by local fishermen. The complex coastal midden sites are harrowing indications of settlement and erosion. Group bookings only. Easy walking along small roads and open track ways and beaches.
Duration: 3-4 hours
Walk Grade: Easy
Requirements: Boots (good ankle support) / wet gear / water / energy snacks / camera (optional).
Meeting Point: Church carpark, Cladaghduff, 7 miles from Clifden, 10.30am (this walk is tide dependent, times may change)
2012 edition: 16th - 18th March, 1st - 3rd June, 19th - 21st October, 28th-30th December 2012
2012 edition programme:
Friday 16 March
Introductory talk hosted by Michael Gibbons, where he will share with you the rich history and secrets of the Connemara Islands and Highlands.
Location: Station House Theatre, Clifden Station House.
Time: 8.30pm
Saturday 17 March
Diamond Hill, Connemara National Park (a dedicated area of bog and mountain wilderness)
Diamond Hill is one of the finest hikes in Ireland with a multitude of route options commanding huge ocean, island and mountain views. It is a outlier of the 12 Bens Mountain range standing 500 meters and towering above the small Quaker village of Letterfrack, which was founded by an English family during the Great Famine (1846-53) to relieve distress.To the west are the islands of Inishbofin and Shark, and to the north Inishturk, Clare Island and Achill (Co Mayo) - once ruled over by the powerful O'Malley clan.
From the summit of Diamond Hill you look down on Kylemore Abbey and Gardens - former home of Mitchell Henry MP, now owned by the Benedictine Nuns and formerly run as a secondary school -, and deep into the Twelve Bens Mountain range and the Maam Turk mountains beyond. On the slopes of the mountain are the remains of an abandoned 19th century Famine settlement, and buried in the surrounding bogs are the remains of a 5,000 year old Megalithic tomb, a Children's Burial Ground and a drowned bronze-age (4,000 years ago) forest. The wild valleys are home to large herd of native red deer and wild mountain goats while its rivers have rich stocks of salmon and trout which are hunted by Connemara's secretive and beautiful otters.
Meeting Point: The walk starts from the archway at Connemara National Park's Visitor Centre
Departure Time: 10.30am sharp
Duration: 3.5 hours (Harder option is 5-6 hours)
Walk Grade: Moderate to difficult and steep in places.
Requirements: Boots (good ankle support mandatory), wetgear, water, energy snacks & camera (optional)
Sunday 18 March
Inishbofin - Island of the White Cow
The beautiful island of Inishbofin, which is only a 30 minute ferry ride from the mainland, is famed for its magnificent scenery, relaxed lifestyle and traditional music, is five miles long and two miles wide and has a population of 200. The island has had a turbulent history with a strong association with Saxon England, 17th century France and 18th century America. Its fragmented coastline boasts a superb natural harbour, dramatic sea cliffs, beautiful coral beaches, sea caves and its seas teem with fish life which feed the island's large seal colony while the skies of 'Bofin' belong to choughs, corncrakes and falcons.
On this walk trip you will see the best preserved 17th century fort and ancient harbour on Ireland's west coast. You will walk through a bronze-age landscape, complete with 4,000 year old houses, cooking sites and ancient walls emerging from the bog. The island’s cliff bound coastline is home to spectacularly sited iron-age forts and overlooking Church Lough you will see the island's ruined church encircled by its 1,500 year old burial ground.
Meeting Point: Meeting at Cleggan Pier at 11.10am
Departure Time: Ferry departs at 11.30am sharp
Duration: 5 hours
Walk Grade: Easy to moderate walking along small roads, open bog and mountain
Requirements: Boots (good ankle support mandatory), wetgear, water, energy snacks & camera (optional)
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Website:
http://www.discoverireland.ie/Places-To-Go/Connemara/Four-Seasons-Walking-Festival
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