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A slightly wet day in Spancilhill

20 brave walkers showed up for our looped walk in Spancilhill last Thursday.
Our group was made up of mostly women so we argued that either the men were soft, or they had more sense and stayed at home out of the rain……..

Starting at the Spanchilhill Inn, we walked an 8.5 km loop passing some great sights like O’Brien’s Castle, O’Brien’s Lake, and the former Drumbaniff National School from 1890.

We arrived back to the start point just before the worst shower of rain, thankfully, and sone of the group made their way to nearby Barefield for some well deserved refreshments.

If you would like to do this walk yourself here is a link to the route.
One section of the walk is on a slightly busy road, so make sure to bring your high-viz.

Our next walk will take place on 8th February in Ardboula, Tulla – we will post about that soon!

Great neighbourhood watch in Spancilhill
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Calendar of Clare Walks 2024

For the last number of years, we have been taking photos while we are out on the trails and we thought that producing a calendar might be a nice way to share these with you.

You can experience the beauty of the East Clare Way and the Mid Clare Way in the comfort of your own home, or you can get your walking boots on and hit the trails to experience it for yourself!

Most of the pics are courtesy of Brendan, one of our maintenance team and our guided walks leader, and you will see that he knows the best spots.

The calendar is €10 (plus €3 for postage within Ireland). Here is a link to our PayPal account if you would like to get one posted to you – just make sure to include your address. If you would like one posted outside of Ireland, please get in touch with us directly.

All monies raised will go towards the future maintenance of the East Clare Way and Mid Clare Way walking routes.

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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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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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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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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!

 

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A beautiful Autumnal morning in Mooghaun

26 of our Active Age group, along with some new members, joined us in Quin last Thursday for an 11km guided looped walk. Yet again, we had beautiful weather – a clear, crisp morning with the most fantastic autumnal colours.

This walk started at Quin Community Centre and up to Mooghaun Hillfort, which was built at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age around 950 BC. The largest and most spectacular hoard of prehistoric gold in Western Europe was found at Mooghaun Lough 1km north of the hillfort. This demonstrates the enormous power and authority of the hillforts occupants. The Mooghaun gold hoard is now on display in the National Museum of Ireland Dublin – Source: Discover Ireland.

Thanks to Brendan Cooney for providing some great history on the old Dromoland Estate, Mooghaun Hillfort and the Mooghaun gold hoard as we passed by the site where this was found.

After a quick break to admire the scenery in Mooghaun, we started on the 5km walk back to Quin Community Hall where we had some very welcome tea/coffee and scones waiting for us.

Our next Active Agers walk will take place at the end of November in Tulla – details will be confirmed soon!

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Active Agers head to Connolly

The sun shone down on Connolly last Thursday as our Active Agers descended on the village to walk the newly developed Cloontabonniv Bog.

The walk started at Carney’s Pub, just outside the village. We would like to say a huge thanks to Julie who opened up especially for us and who provided very welcome cups of tea and coffee and sweet treats on our return.

We were joined on the walk by a large number of committee members from Connolly who have been, and are still, involved in the development of this bog walk to make it an accessible amenity and also to preserve it for future generations. It has certainly been a labour of love for this group over the last number of years.  The stories we heard on route, from people who came to this bog as children, to the history of the bog and the families who worked it, made the morning all the more enjoyable for the walkers. A neighbour on the route even picked plums from the tree in his garden for us, and they were possibly the sweetest I have ever tasted.

With stunning views of Mount Callan, surrounded by forestry, with streams running down the side of the road, we crossed over the start of the Inagh River and a even had a quick stop to watch a baby frog crossing the road – this was certainly a walk in nature. We all agreed that it was a very enjoyable walk.

Well done to all involved in the Cloontabonniv Bog.

 

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Active Agers head to Kilmaley

The rain did not stop the 20 enthusiastic walkers who headed off from Kilmaley GAA club last Thursday for a 7.5km looped walk, taking a brief detour to see the stunning cascades.

A huge thanks to our group member Gerry O’Malley for helping to plan the walk and also a huge thanks to the Kilmaley GAA club for allowing us to use the complex for a much needed hot cuppa on our return.

Our next walk will take place on Thursday 31st May in Whitegate in East Clare.