With the latest addition to Tinahely’s walking trails, the Tinahely Loop is proving to be popular with walking visitors to the area, here are some recent reviews from irishtrails.ie :
Tinahely Loop:
Tinahely Loop – 29/09/2014 21:25 PM by Richard from Dublin
Walked this loop on Sunday 21/09/2014 in fine weather. Parked at Kilcommon Bridge and took the route in a clockwise direction travelling to the west of Tinahely first. For the first 9.5kms the views were limited and there is a fair bit of road to cover. Because of this I chose to wear trail shoes rather than boots and it meant that I averaged at least 6km/h for the entire journey. Once you are on the Wicklow Way there are some great history of the local area documented on signs along the roadside. Do take time to stop and read them.
Take extreme care when walking on the R747 as walking facing oncoming traffic can be a bit scary. I think it would be better to walk with the traffic coming from behind you as at least you’ll be able to see around the bend.
As the route continues towards Mangan’s Wood you feel totally removed from the town and are treated to fine views and great underfoot conditions. At this point you could extend the route by 10-12kms and include the Kyle Loop and make it a real epic. I continued on east of the town and returned to the car park via the dismantled railway line.
Make sure you bring the downloadable map with you and it’s also worth having OS 62 for greater detail. Remember when you are walking under the two railway bridges the road is above you…you’re not looking for a road and path intersection.
The entire 25km walk took me 5 hours and included many photo stops and a lunch break. Why not stay overnight in the town and make a weekend of it!!
Read the full review here: Tinahely Loop Review, irish trails.ie
Kyle Loop:
Kyle Loop – 25/09/2014 12:45 PM by Richard from Dublin
Walked this route on Monday 22/09 after staying the night in the Kyle Farmhouse B&B which was excellent. I chose to walk the loop in reverse (clockwise) in order to get the road sections out of the way early on. In addition you are treated to great views of Lug and Croaghanmoira as you return north to the farmhouse. It is advisable to bring the downloadable map with you as the route is waymarked in the opposite direction only. The climb up beyond Mangan’s Wood is fairly steep but you are well rewarded with fine views across Tinahely from Ballycumber Hill. As you return along the main track heading north there are numerous new tracks which are not marked on the map. Ignore these and continue straight ahead. I did not include the section down to the trailhead so it took 3 hours covering 12kms. Number of other walkers passed…ZERO!!!