HIKING TOURS IN THE NORTH OF IRELAND 

The Antrim Glens & Causeway Coast 8-Day Hiking Holiday

The charming county of Antrim in Northern Ireland is one of the best-kept secrets in Irish tourism. For decades the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland deterred all but the most determined travellers from visiting this area, and the media coverage of ‘the Troubles’ compounded this, giving the misleading impression that the armoured cars, tanks, bombs and guns were everywhere in the province.

Thankfully this gave us one of the most beautiful and yet relatively untouched regions in Ireland to walk in.  The peaceful charm that you find in this wonderful place is testimony to the people who live there – as friendly as you could wish to find and as determined as any to keep this “gem” as it is – unique in all its glory.

The Antrim Glens & Causeway Coast 6-Day Hiking Holiday

The charming county of Antrim in Northern Ireland is one of the best-kept secrets in Irish tourism. For decades the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland deterred all but the most determined travellers from visiting this area, and the media coverage of ‘the Troubles’ compounded this, giving the misleading impression that the armoured cars, tanks, bombs and guns were everywhere in the province.

Thankfully this gave us one of the most beautiful and yet relatively untouched regions in Ireland to walk in.  The peaceful charm that you find in this wonderful place is testimony to the people who live there – as friendly as you could wish to find and as determined as any to keep this “gem” as it is – unique in all its glory.

The Antrim Glens & Causeway Coast 5-Day Hiking Holiday

The charming county of Antrim in Northern Ireland is one of the best-kept secrets in Irish tourism. For decades the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland deterred all but the most determined travellers from visiting this area, and the media coverage of ‘the Troubles’ compounded this, giving the misleading impression that the armoured cars, tanks, bombs and guns were everywhere in the province.

Thankfully this gave us one of the most beautiful and yet relatively untouched regions in Ireland to walk in.  The peaceful charm that you find in this wonderful place is testimony to the people who live there – as friendly as you could wish to find and as determined as any to keep this “gem” as it is – unique in all its glory.

Donegal 12-Day Hiking Holiday

Geographically speaking, Donegal is a county of contradictions: it contains the northernmost point in the whole of Ireland - Malin Head on the remote Inishowen Peninsula and yet it is in ‘the South’ (Republic of Ireland). It is in Ulster (i.e. the nine-county province), but not in Northern Ireland.  The county is very sparsely populated, with large tracts of land being uninhabited and a good deal of the open land and grazing country is covered by blanket bogs.

The north-western tip of Donegal, around Bloody Foreland, is known for the interplay of light and water.  The rocks are given a magical pink or reddish hue when sunlight falls on them, particularly at sunset, and this is particularly noticeable on the cone of Errigal, Donegal’s highest peak.  Donegal Irish is spoken in the districts of the Rosses and Gweedore, this being one of the strongest Gaeltacht areas in the country.

The Gaeltacht village of Glencolumbcille gets its name from St. Columbcille (Latin: Columba) who retreated there in the 5th Century.  It has one of the best-preserved groupings of Early Christian pillar stones, spread over the valley. These are located at the 13 stations of the ‘turas’ or pilgrimage, still held every year on June 9th,  the feast day of St. Columbcille.  Donegal has some of the finest cliff scenery in Ireland, the most famous being the cliffs of Slieve League, a mountain of 595m which drops almost sheer into the sea.  These cliffs stretch for 3 miles and can be best viewed from Bunglass near Teelin.  A spectacular walk from here leads to the summit of Slieve League, passing over the cliff-tops and crossing the notorious arete called ‘One Man’s Pass’.  The cliffs of Horn Head near Dunfanaghy are also well worth a visit.  From here you will glimpse Tory Island, mythical home of the Fomorians, lying 12 kms north of Bloody Foreland.