National Trails Day 2012 – Sunday, October 7th Get to know your local walks

National Trails Day is a celebration of Ireland’s wonderful variety of trails and a chance for everyone
to enjoy some of our most beautiful countryside, forests, mountains and lakes. With miles and miles
of trails to explore, there is a trail to suit everyone. This year, the emphasis is on encouraging people
who may have never walked a trail before to get out and give it a go. With this in mind, the North
Tipperary Trails Group has organised a series of guided walks and hikes to suit everyone from the
absolute beginner to the avid enthusiast.
John Egan, Rural Recreation Officer, with the responsibility for developing and promoting walks in
Tipperary explains: “County Tipperary can claim to have some of best variety of trails in the country
– lakeshore walks, mountain hikes, riverbank trails and forest treks. The quality of Tipperary’s trails is
outstanding, and National Trails Day is an opportunity for everyone to explore what available in their
own locality. All our events are guided and all the information about what’s on in your area is
available on the website www.nationaltrailsday.ie”
The North Tipperary Trails Group, in conjunction with local communities, has organised a series of
walks, all of which will be led by an experienced walker and many of which are suitable for all
standards of fitness. The choice of walks as well as the improvement and development of walks in
North Tipperary has progressed year on year through the collaborative work of the North Tipperary
Trails Group which is made up of representatives from agencies such as North Tipperary LEADER,
North Tipperary County Council, Coillte, Shannon Development and the Rural Recreation Officer for
Tipperary. Community groups, FÁS, the Rural Social Scheme and land owners throughout the county
have also played an important role in this process.
Walks planned for National Trails Day 2012 by the North Tipperary Trails Group and communities
are:
1. Cloughjordan – Kyle/Emmel Loop Walk. This loop walk will bring people through the old
area of Kyle. Duration is expected to be around 2.5 hours. The walk will be on forest road,
down attractive boreens and along the edge of open bogland. Meet at 3pm at the Two Mile
Bridge, Nenagh Road, Cloughjordan.
2. Cloughjordan – Autumn Nature Detectives Children’s Walk, Knockanacree Woodlands.
Celebrating Nature in Our Neighbourhood , this 1.5 hour event looks at the flora and fauna
of the autumn time for children , with handout sheets and a short guided walk. This event is
part of the ‘Nature in Our Neighbourhood’ Programme of the CCDC. Meet at 12:30pm at the
Front entrance to Knockanacree Woodland on the Birr/Shinrone Road.
3. Upperchurch National Looped Walk (Birchhill Loop). The meeting point for this walk is at PJ
Ryan’s Pub in Rosmult, 3 Km’s from the village of Upperchurch. Registration at 11:45am for a
12:00 noon departure. This is a moderate walk of 7Km through forestry and agricultural
land. The route takes in the old graveyard and blessed well at Templebeg as well as a rich
variety of flora and fauna in its pond, woodland and upland habitats. The folklore of the area
tells of a Robin Hood figure that roamed the hills of West Tipperary in the 17/18th century
and was known as Eamonn a Chnoic (Ned of the Hill). Many legends are told of these men
and their deeds. This loop explores the area around Birchhill, which may in times past have
sheltered Eamonn and his ‘merrymen’!
4. Kilcommon Pilgrim Trail. The meeting point for this walk is McCormacks Cross Bar,
Kilcommon Cross. Registration at 14:00 for a 14:15 departure. The walk brings you along the
old mass path to the lower slopes of Mother Mountain and from there it will loop back to the village of Kilcommon. It provides beautiful views of the countryside and lots of fresh hilly
air. It is a moderate walk of 7Km’s in distance approximately 2 – 2.5 hours.
5. Devil’s Bit Hike in Templemore. The trail will follow forestry tracks and old pathways by the
slopes of the legendary mountain and its signature white cross on the Little rock. The Little
rock summit on the Devils Bit Mountain boasts stunning views from as far as the Shannon
and Lough Derg to the north west and to the Commeraghs and Knockmealdowns in the far
south of the county. See the patchwork quilt of rolling hills and Golden vales and the Slieve
Ardaghs, Slievenamon, Galtees, Silvermines and Arra Mountains. And thats just the
Tipperary bits…. 5km. Moderate, difficult in places. Meet at the Devils Bit Car Park, Barnane.
Registration at 13:45 for a 14:00 departure.
6. Lough Derg Way – Garrykennedy to Newtown. The walking group will leave Garrykennedy
village and travel through fields, pathways and local roads along the Lough Derg Way. Along
the way you’ll see the mass rock and St Cuanlans well plus the beautiful views of Lough
Dergs Youghal Bay and Callows. The walk will end at Newtown where walkers will get a lift
back to Garrykennedy or can retrace their steps over the 9km trail if preferred! Registration
in Garrykennedy at 13:45 for a 14:00 departure.
7. Knockanroe Loop in the Silvermines. The walkers will gather at the Church in Silvermines
village and will car pool to the trail head 3km south of the village at Knockanroe. The route
will pass through the peaceful woodlands Knockanroe and Coolyhorney and overlaps with
the Slieve Felim way for a short period. The trail is a scenic walk offering splendid views of
surrounding counties and Lough Derg. Registration at 12:15 for a 12:30 departure. Duration
is about 1.5 hours.
8. Thurles and the Cabragh Wetlands Trail. The group will gather at Lar Na Pairce carpark,
Slievenamon Road, Thurles, and follow existing paths and riverside trails as far as the Suir
Bridge at The Golf Club, Turtulla. The trail will than follow the fisherman’s track along the
Suir and farm tracks to emerge at the old Sugar Factory on the Cabragh Road. The group will
then make the short road trek south to Cabragh Wetlands and will no doubt appreciate the
great environmental conservation work of the Cabragh Wetlands Trust. Lifts can be
organised from the wetlands back to town or else enjoy the stroll back through Ballycurrane
and Stradavoher. 8km easy. Registration at 10:45am for an 11:00am departure
Different types of walks
Walkers in North Tipperary are now spoilt for choice with the different categories of walks that are
available. There are two way marked ways in North Tipperary which are long distance, multi-day
routes offering the experienced walker challenge and enjoyment. These are the Lough Derg Way and
the Slieve Felim Way. There is a wonderful selection of looped walks which are shorter walks
ranging from one hour to four hours and they start and finish at the same trailhead and are suitable
for both serious and leisurely walkers, examples include Graves of the Leinstermen Loop, Kilcommon
Pilgrim Loop Walk and The Upperchurch National Looped walks. (Knockalough, Eamonn an Chnoic &
Birch Hill). Linear walks which start and finish at different locations such as the Slí Eala, a stunning
scenic walk along the Nenagh River from Dromineer to Nenagh have also been developed in recent
times to improve the choice of routes for walkers. Treks are four to six hour walks following a
section of one of the way marked ways. Many treks traverse forestry, waterfalls, weirs and small
villages and an example of a trek is Keeper Hill. To find out more about the variety of walks in the
county visit www.shannonregiontrails.ie