Ballyhoura Walking Festival
The autumn evenings may be starting to close in, so there’s no better time to get your walking boots on for the 25th Ballyhoura Walking Festival, taking place from Friday 8th to Sunday 10th October in Kilfinane, Co Limerick.
Established as Ireland’s first-ever walking festival back in the day, it provides an opportunity to explore some of Ballyhoura Country’s stunning scenery.
Amongst the walking programme’s highlights are the ever-popular Darragh Hill Moon Light Walk (C Walk) on Friday evening, Saturday’s breath-taking Sunrise Walk to Seefin (the highest point of Ballyhoura Mountains) led by Britton Outdoors, as well as the Walking Half Marathon (A Walk), where each participant will be awarded with a certificate.
The Slievereagh Loop Walk (B Walk) takes in part of the Ballyhoura Way and traverses streams, woodlands, forest roads and tracks, scaling its highest point of the pinnacle Slievereagh at 465m; meanwhile the easy Canon Sheehan Loop Walk (C Walk) follows glorious forest tracks, woodland paths and riverbank through Glenanaar Forest and along the banks of the Ogeen River.
There’s lots for families to enjoy too at the festival! Ballyhoura Nature Trail Family Scavenger Hunt is a fun 40-minute, 2km investigation of over 20 hidden creatures in the woods that children have to uncover on their walk.
Who knows what they’ll find! Meanwhile, the Forest Welly Waddlers session led by Ballyhoura Beo will guarantee lots of morning fun for the 2 to 5 year-olds and their parents, with a natural play session in the Ballyhoura Woodlands! Irish Family Search are hosting the Mitchelstown Heritage Walk, which includes displays of the local native games of skittles and road bowling, and also takes in the Silk Farm, 1887 Land War Protest, Pagan Well, The Co-Op Story, local GAA lore and the 7th Century Abbey.
Further information and start time for the walks are available from: here.
To mark being surrounded all weekend by the stunning Ballyhoura landscape, festival participants with an eye for capturing a good photograph–whether that be the beautiful scenery or the ‘craic’ of the festival–can take part in an online photography competition.
#BallyhouraMoments #BallyhouraWalkingFestival and #VisitBallyhoura are the all-important hashtags you will need to enter!
There’s so much to enjoy at the 25th Ballyhoura Walking Festival
Where will your walking boots take you?
