Connemara & Aran Islands Experience - Experience the beauty of this unspoilt wilderness for 8 exhilarating days of walking and hiking.

This is one Walking Holiday that you will never forget. You will stay in Connemara National Park for four nights and spend three nights on the infamous Aran islands.

Price: €800

Day 1:

Pick up 8:00 am Dublin City Centre. Optional pick up at Shannon at midday or Galway that afternoon.

Meet all your other friendly fun-seekers for the first day of your 8 day Walking holiday adventure!

We will be leaving Dublin early, stopping for a brief stroll around the Phoenix Park where our President lives, the largest city park in Europe.

We will be traversing the whole of our small island today, stopping for lunch in Galway city. After lunch we will make the small hop into Connemara National Park, where we will be staying at Killary Harbour for four nights.

This is Ireland's only fjord with breathtaking vistas from your accommodation. It is here we will being our walking adventure

Day 2:

This is one of my favourite walks in Connemara, where we climb up Benbaun and on down to Klyemore Abbey. As we ascend this mountain you will have unrestricted views of the lakes of Connemara made famous in the song by Marcel Sardou. There are a lot of wild mountain goats in this part of the country and you may be lucky to see a Connemara pony rambling beside you.

The walk will take around 4 hours and at the end you can relax around the abbey, now a boarding school for the rich and famous-girls only. The Abbey, now a girl's boarding school, is run by the Benedictine nuns whose order came here from Ypres in Belgium after the first world war. The house itself was built by a business man called Mitchell Henry who, while honeymooning in the area, fell in love with the unspoiled natural charm of the valley and decided to build a home there.

The chapel in the grounds is a miniaturized replica of Norwich Cathedral. The gardens are immaculately kept and any of the nuns will be happy to talk to you about the abbey and its surroundings. That evening, we may take a spin to the local village and take part in a local ceili, an Irish dance evening, where local musicians get together to teach you how to Irish dance, not riverdance style but traditional Irish dancing. This is great craic and really is a must do in Ireland.

Day 3:

Today we scale the magical Croagh Patrick.

The wonderful quartzite coned mountain of Croagh Patrick has been a sacred place for almost 5000 years. As far back as 3000 BC our megalithic ancestors worshipped there. Before the birth of Christ, the festival of the god Lugh was held on its slopes. Lugh is the god whose name gives us the Irish word Lughnasa for August, and it would seem that there is a connection between the pagan worship which took place at the end of the summer and the date fixed for the present day Christian pilgrimage to Croagh Patrick.

Croagh Patrick is Ireland's holy mountain where Patrick, the patron saint, spent 40 days and nights praying and fasting in 441AD. While on the summit Patrick was tormented by blackbirds which surrounded him and in later stories became demons and serpents. Ancient chroniclers say that Patrick threw his bell at them and banished them into the hollow known as Lug Na Deamhan, which is located on the North side of the mountain. It is a common belief that this is why no poisonous snake or reptile can be found in Ireland today.

The plain iron bell said to belong to the patron saint is preserved in the National Museum. This walk is about 11k long mostly on loose stones on the mountain. There is fantastic views to be had out over Clew Bay where Grace O Malley, the most feared female pirate had her castle. I believe there is now a show in Broadway portraying her life. They say there are 365 islands in this bay, one for everyday of the year. Before we scale this 784 m high mountain, we will stroll along a secluded beach.

Day 4:

Today we go to Gleninagh and Bencollaghduff, part of the 12 pins.

A magnificent, mountain setting surrounds you as you commence this walk. Across the flatness of the wide, glaciated valley to the East, the craggy spurs and peaks of the Mamturk Mountains rear up into the skies above. On a clear day there is no better walk in Connemara. Total height gained in this walk does not go over 880m. This route can be challenging but as always with us, if the weather is too bad, we will be taking an easier walking route.

Day 5:>

We leave Killary today. I can see the tears in your eyes already!

We will be island hopping again today, and make our way to Rossaveal in Galway, where we board the boat to the Aran Islands. There is little walks that we will be doing today. It is a nice relaxing day arriving late in the afternoon in Kilronan, the main town on Aran Mor.

Approximately 14 kms (8.7 miles) in length and 3.8 kms (2.4 miles) in width, Aran is a walker's paradise. Feel the peace and listen to the silence, between sea and sky, on craggy cliffs or all along a quiet, indented coastline. Aran has an abundance of wildlife and some 437 varieties of wild flowers. You are guaranteed to hear some great Irish traditional music on these, the wildest islands in Europe.

Day 6:

We will be discovering the Southern part of the island today. One of the amazing things about the Aran Islands is the history that unfolds in front of your eyes as you wander down the little roads and across the fields. 15th century churches appear out of nowhere. Today you will be seeing The Black Fort, The Puffing Holes, View of Synge's Chair, Isolated beaches, St Benin's Church, close up action of large waves crashing against the rocks, cliff face walking. Sure what else would you be doing?

Day 7:

I know, you have all been so eager to see Dœn Aonghasa and its magnicicent fort. The fort has been described as one of the most magnificent of its kind in Europe. It comprises three concentric semicircles and covers an area of 11 acres.ÊIt has three enclosures with the innermost giving the visitor an amazing view of Inishmore and the Connemara Coast.

As well as the towering walls and the 200 meter high unclimbable cliff face the area in front of the fort was peppered with sharp stone sticking out from the ground. This is the same as the latter army used sharpened wooden stakes to do the same job as a deterrent to invasion. To worm your way through the stones would seriously slow the advance of an invading force. Today's walk is called the ring of Aran walk and can take up to 5 hours at a leisurely pace. You will get to see The Worm Hole, Dun Aonghasa, The light House, The seal colony, Kilmurvey Beach, The Craft Village, Panoramic Views, Cliff face walking, The Standing Stones.

At the end of this walk, you will be hungry and thirsty for a pint in Joe Watties pub.

Day 8:

Alas, my brave warriors, this is the final day on your walking and hiking adventure and we will make our way back to the capital city of Dublin. We will be stopping in the 5th. Century monastery of Clonmacnois, and driving through the great bog of Allen. When we arrive back in Dublin, we will have the option of going into the Guinness factory, to finish off our tour with a creamy pint of the black stuff.