Walking Ireland’s SW Coast – Post #1

Robert Bradt


Between mid-May to late June 2024, I will be walking along the SW coast of Ireland, taking in the Kerry Way, the Dingle Way, the North Kerry Way, and parts of the Burren Way in Clare and the Western Way in Galway. This is the story of part of that journey.

A big thank you to everyone who has bought me a coffee over the past year. The Buy Me a Coffee service allows patrons like you to fund writers like me, to cover things like the costs of running this blog, new shoes and gear, and journeys like this. If that sounds like a worthy idea to you, then go ahead – keep buying me coffees.

So as of 2024, surprise, surprise, I’m still not getting any younger.  My bucket list of walks that I’d love to do keeps growing, but the likelihood of completing even a fraction of these keeps shrinking.

Which means it’s time to get out and get going.  And since Ann has family in Ireland, and since with Covid and moving to Nova Scotia and whatnot we’ve not visited in several years, it is time to get back over.  

And that coincides with some of the walks on my bucket list – Ireland is crisscrossed with official walking trails and wee country lanes that I have been itching to explore.  So this year is the year to get to it.

Starting in mid-May, I will be travelling to Dublin and then taking the train to Killarney in County Kerry, in the SW of Ireland.  From there I’ll follow the coast north for about 1000 km through Kerry, Clare, and Galway, on waymarked trails and wee country lanes:

  • Starting in Killarney, walk the Kerry Way clockwise round the Iveragh Peninsula and back to Killarney, with maybe a detour to visit Skellig Michael, weather and legs and schedule depending
  • After a rest day in Killarney, head north along wee roads up to Camp on the Dingle Peninsula to join the Dingle Way
  • Follow that round anti-clockwise and near Dunquin, make a detour to visit Great Blasket Island and the westernmost tip of Ireland at Dunmore Head
  • Then rejoin the Dingle Way and continue back to Camp, and then complete the trail by walking to Tralee (and incidentally thus complete the Kerry Camino which takes you from Dingle Town to Tralee)
  • After another rest day in Tralee, follow the North Kerry Way up the coast to Ballyheigue, and then continue on back roads north, across the River Shannon at Tarbert, and on up to Lahinch
  • Where I’ll pick up the Burran Way, and follow it past the fabled Cliffs of Moher, to Doolin
  • To catch the ferry to Inishmaan and Inishmore and take a rest day exploring these Aran Islands
  • And then take a different ferry to Rossaveal in Connemara, County Galway
  • And set off along coastal roads west to Clifden, then north to catch the ferry to Inishbofin Island
  • And then back to the mainland and roads northeast, past Letterfrack to visit Kylemore Abbey and on eastwards to pick up the Western Way
  • Which I will follow east and south to its terminus in Oughterard, 
  • And then finish my journey following forest roads through the hills to complete my tour of Connemara in Galway City
  • And, finally, end my solo adventures by taking the train back to Dublin to meet up with Ann

So that’s the plan.  If all goes well, I’ll finish in late June 2024.  Blog posts to follow, of course.

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