9-Day / 8-Night Challenging

From your point of arrival, use the public transport information we provide to make the journey to Killarney.

Starting from your guesthouse, you soon enter the grounds of Muckross House & Gardens – the centrepiece of Killarney National Park. Continue on past Torc Waterfall and onto the Old Kenmare Road – a track over the mountains long closed to traffic.

Today, you are more likely to meet sheep than humans as you enter some of the most rugged countryside that Ireland has to offer. Two sharp ridges will get those leg muscles working overtime but, as ever, the views are more than worth it. A track junction allows you to choose one of two routes around Seefin Mountain. Don’t worry, they’re both beautiful!

You have the choice to visit the beautiful Rossbeigh Strand before an old coach path takes you around Drung Hill where you pass above the old railway viaduct – a reminder of old local trade routes. Descend into the Ferta River Valley and continue to Foilmore.

The route today follows an old track used to transfer butter to Cork in the 19th Century. Staigue ringfort, one of Ireland’s finest historical sites dating back around 2,000 years, is located just off the Way and is certainly worth the short detour.

After crossing the fast-flowing Blackwater River, you descend to the shore of Kenmare Bay – a lovely setting for a picnic with views across to the Beara Peninsula. Kenmare itself is a pretty market-town with a lively pub scene and some fantastic places to eat.