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You can’t beat a bit of home baking……………

Clare Ramblers, Ogonnelloe, East Clare Way

Our recent “Ramblers” guided walk took place in Ogonnelloe in the stunning East Clare. Although the weather forecast was not looking good, 17 brave walkers (and 2 dogs) joined us for a 7km looped walk starting at the Piper’s Inn Bar & Restaurant. We headed uphill to St. Mary’s church, towards Ballylaughan with stunning views over Lough Derg, and returning via Ballyheefey to the Piper’s Inn, where some freshly baked scones and biscuits, just out of the oven,  were waiting for us, along with fresh made jam, and a very welcomes cuppa.
A huge thanks to Cian and Tess, and all at the Piper’s Inn for looking after us.
And thanks to all who walked with us on the day and contributed towards the future maintenance of the East Clare Way and the Mid Clare Way long distance walking routes.

In case you missed the walk, or you would like to do it again, check it our here!For best results, click on the walker icon and then satellite icon.

Our next Ramblers Guided Walk will take place in Quin on Thursday 31st October at 11am.
See you then!

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Beauty in Ballinruan

Clare Ramblers, Ballinruan, Mid Clare Way

Despite the weather being a bit wild, our Ramblers had a great walk in Ballinruan this morning.

This was an 8km looped walk following quiet roads, circling the scenic Doon Lough.  We started out from Ballinruan Community Hall and we would like to say a huge thanks to the Ballinruan Development Association for the use of this facility to start out from this morning. We also used the facilities in the hall at the end of the walk for our customary tea and scones. Special thanks to Johnny for looking after us today.
And to Bailey the dog who accompanied our walkers along the route.

If you missed this walk, or you would like to do it again, get the full route here.

Don’t forget to click on the walker icon!

Our next guided walk is on Thursday 26th September in Ogonnelloe – see full details here. We hope to see you then!

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Lunch at Bohatch Dolmen for Heritage Week

Bohatch Dolmen, Mountshannon, East Clare

15 walkers headed off from Mountshannon Harbour last Saturday for a 12km looped walk to Bohatch Portal Dolmen, said to be the burial place of local chieftains over 3,000 years ago.

We followed quiet roads with a upward climb to start but the views were well worth the climb – lough derg and over towards Tountinnna and Keeper Hill in Tipperary.

We had a lovely refeshment stop at the dolmen, sitting in lovely sunshine, admiring the views below.

For details of our upcoming walks, check out www.clarewalks.ie/events. We hope you will join us for a ramble some time soon.

 

 

 

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Walkers head to Whitegate

Dromaan Harbour, Whitegate, East Clare Way

38 “Ramblers” hit the trails recently in Whitegate for an 8km looped walk taking in Williamstown Harbour, Hollands Quay, Dromaan House and returning to Whitegate, and the good old reliable Half Barrel Bar & Restaurant for some fresh scones and a well earned cuppa!


Thanks to Tom Holland and Michael Ryan for providing us with some fascinating history and great local stories on route!

If you didn’t get to walk with us, or you would like to do this walk again, please see route map here. For best map results click walker icon and satellite.

Our next walk will take place on Thursday 29th August at 11am – check out route here. 

We hope to see you then!

 

 

 

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Sunshine and Sausages….

Ardboula, Tulla, East Clare Way

What a fantastic day we had for our monthly “Ramblers” walk in Tulla. The sun shone down on our 23 walkers as we headed off from Ardboula House for a 6km looped walk taking in unspolit surroundings and the beautiful Clondorney Lake.
On our return, we dined Al Fresco in a stunning shaded area beside Ardboula House, where our chef Brendan, treated us to cooked sausages, fresh rolls, scones, tea and coffee all prepared outdoors.
A great ending to a fab morning of walking.

Thanks to Christine and Willie O’Brien for the use of Ardboula House as our base for this months walk.

Our next walk will take place on Thursday 25th July at 11am from the Half Barrel in Whitegate – full details here.

We hope to see you then!

 

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A Ramble through Cloontabonniv

Cloontabonniv Bog Walk, Conolly, Mid Clare Way

15 eager walkers travelled to Connolly last Thursday for a 6km guided looped walk around the newly developed Cloontabonniv Bog Walk, which was developed by Connolly Tidy Village and will be maintained by Clare Walks Ltd. maintenance staff.

A few showers along the route didn’t put our walkers off and thankfully it kept the midges at bay!

This is a stunning walk with an abundance of scenery, nature and bird song, so it is definitely worth adding to your agenda.

If you would like any further details of this, or any of our walks, drop us a line – info@clarewalks.ie.

Our next walk will take place on Thursday 27th June at 11am from Ardboula House in Tulla. Hope you can join us!

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Active Agers “Shut up and Dance”

Although the forecast was not looking good, 26 eager Active Agers joined us in Ogonelloe last Thursday for our monthly Guided Walk. Surprisingly we experienced only warm and sunny weather throughout the walk and it was so enjoyable to be out.

We started at the Ogonnelloe Hall/Exchange, which is the recently renovated Ballybran School on the main road between Scariff and Killaloe. The building and the facilities are absolutely fantastic and there is huge credit due to the committee and the community who made this happen. There is a fab Community Cafe open here every Saturday from 11am, so if you are passing make sure to pop in for a cuppa.

Before we headed off walking, we did a quick warm up to the song “Shut up and Dance”. We organised this in conjunction with Today FM’s Dare to Care/Be a Dancer for Cancer campaign and all donations from the day will be going to the Irish Cancer Society. We are delighted to have raised €178 on the day! Thanks and well done to everyone who donated. Thanks to Concepta for leading the warm-up.

Although this was a moderate walk of approx. 8km with one or two steep climbs, it was well worth it! We passed through forestry paths parallel to the lake and had to stop to admire the blanket of bluebells. We had fantastic views of Lough Derg to Holy Island,  Mountshannon and to Tipperary on the far shore and Ballyloughnane on the Clare side, and the unexpected beautiful weather greatly added to this.

Thanks to Antoinette for the great photo (above).

On our return to Ogonnelloe Hall/Exchange, we had a well deserved cuppa, scones and biscuits (but nobody was counting calories….)

If you missed this walk, or you would like to walk it again, check out the route details here (Don’t forget to click on the walker at the top)

Our next walk will take place on Thursday 30th May at 11am – see details here!

We hope to see you then!

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What a day to hit the trails…….Active Agers head to Tiermaclane!

What a beautiful day it was to hit the trails on our third Guided walk for Active Agers this year.

On Thursday last, 40 eager Active Agers gathered in Tiermaclane (just outside Ennis) to head off on a 7.5 guided looped walk passing Cragbrien, Ballyea and returning to Tiermaclane.
We had a few inclines on the walk but as one walker said “What goes up, must come down” so it wasn’t too challenging for us!
The walk was on quiet local roads passing forestry and a stunning waterfall and we were accompanied by beautiful birdsong all the way. 

Shortly before we reached the finish point, we passed the impressive ruins of the old Woulfe Estate, which has been unoccupied since the 1870’s.

Thanks to one of our new walkers, Nathalie Lauze, for sharing some of her photos.

Making our way back to Carrig’s Costcutter in Tiermaclane, we treated ourselves to tea/coffee and an array of fresh pastries and some of us even sat outside soaking up the sunshine – a real novelty for this time of year!

If you missed this walk, or you would like to walk it again, check out the route details here (Don’t forget to click on the walker at the top)

Our next walk will take place on Thursday 25th April at 11am – see details here.
We hope to see you then!

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Sampling the delights of Mountshannon

42 eager walkers headed off from Mountshannon Harbour last Thursday for our second Active Agers walks of 2019 for a 7km looped walk following quiet roads. There were a few hills at the start but the views over Mountshannon, Holy Island and Lough Derg on the way back were worth the climb!

We luckily arrived back to Mountshannon just before the first rain shower of the day.

The newly opened Seasons Restaurant was a welcome stop for hot drinks, home baking and home-made soup. Thanks to Geraldine for welcoming us in to her beautifully decorated restaurant and we wish her the very best for the future.

If you missed this walk, or you would like to walk it again, check out the route details here (Don’t forget to click on the walker at the top)

Our next walk will take place on Thursday 28th March at 11am – see details here. We hope to see you then!

 

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Great weather for the first Active Age walk of 2019

We couldn’t have asked for better weather on Thursday last when 45 eager walkers joined us for the first Active Agers walk of 2019.

We left Newmarket-on-Fergus, walked through the town towards Kilnasoolagh and then headed for the remains of the late Bronze Age Hillfort at Mooghaun. From here we continued on our 7km loop back to Newmarket-on-Fergus, where we stopped in the Weavers Inn for a welcome cup of tea and a delicious (but not so healthy) snack.

For anyone who missed this walk, or anyone who fancies doing it again, please see map of the route here.

Don’t forget to join us for our next walk on Thursday 28th February at 11am in Mountshannon. Hope to see you then!