Ireland’s Singles Walk

Day 1: Transfer from Shannon Airport at 11 am to your accommodation at the Clew Bay Hotel in Westport. Please note that the earliest check in time is 3 pm. Meet your guide at 4:30 in the hotel bar for a briefing of the coming week’s activities with dinner served immediately afterwards. For anyone who wants some musical entertainment, Westport is a veritable mecca for traditional music with a member of the famous Chieftains musical group owning a bar in the main street less than a five minute walk away. Traditional sessions can also be heard in the hotel's bar.

Day 2: Transfer south to Connemara where you will visit Kylemore Abbey (please note a small fee of about 8 Euros applies to enter the Abbey and Cathedral) with its completely restored Victorian Gardens. 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 tour, which is self guided, should take no longer than two hours. Afterwards you are transferred to the head of an old track which is part of the Western Way. Here you will have an excellent view of the quartzite 12 Bens Mountains and an opportunity to take some photographs of Killary Harbour. At the head of Killary Fjord stands a fishing lodge in which the Academy Award winning actress Vivien Leigh of "Gone With The Wind" lived. Walk details: 8 miles, good track, very little ascent with no moor or bog.

Day 3: The wonderful quartzite coned mountain of Croagh Patrick has been a sacred place for almost 5,000 years. As far back as 3,000 BC Irish 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 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 reptiles can be found in Ireland today. The plain iron bell said to belong to the patron saint is preserved in the National Museum. Walk details: 8 miles, 1750 feet, uphill climb on a loose stoned, pilgrim track, small section of bog and country lanes.

Day 4: A two and a half hour bus tour takes the group to Lisdoonvarna, home of the world famous matchmaking festival. You’ll arrive in town around lunch time and get into the spirit of things straight away. Dancing is widely available; in the streets, in the bars, in the squares. Lunch is independent. In olden days, after the harvest had been brought home, the men came to Lisdoonvarna to "take the waters". These waters had a high content of sulfate, which is of great benefit for sufferers of rheumatism. In the afternoon, you will continue to partake of the various traditional Irish cultural activities on offer before heading back to Westport around 5 pm. You will stop en route or may wait until returning to Westport for dinner. Dinner cost not included.

Day 5: Today is your Free Day. There are a myriad of activities from which to choose; golfing, spa treatments, fishing and horseback riding but they need to be booked in advance and you must arrange and pay for your own transport. It also gives you the opportunity to catch up on your emails and laundry. Alternately, you could relax and wander around Westport itself, admire its beautiful Georgian architecture or simply enjoy a coffee in one of its side street cafes or a "pint" in one of its atmospheric pubs! Dinner tonight is in the hotel dining room.

Day 6: For today’s walk you head to the north side of Clew Bay and walk the foothills of the Nephin mountain range which is a huge wilderness area. You will see peat or turf cutting as you are walking. Walk details: 7 miles, ascent 300 feet on a good quality bog road.

Day 7: A one hour drive south takes you to the head of Ireland’s only fiord – Killary Harbour. En route, you will pass by a house built by Sir William Wilde, father of Oscar, who was often known to have visited here. You will walk on an old famine road that was built by the starving Irish peasants during the Great Famine (1845 – 1849). On the route you will clearly see the ruins of famine villages and lazy beds, the name given to the potato ridges where the impoverished tenant farmer tried to eke out a living for his family. By mid-afternoon, you will be driven back to Westport for some last minute shopping. Walk details: 6 miles, no ascent, good track but wet and boggy in places.

Day 8: After breakfast, please check out by 10 am. If you are planning to return to the USA on Saturday please be advised to schedule your flight for after 1:00 PM.

Please Note that the itinerary may be changed at the discretion of the guide and that the trip to Lisdoonvarna may take place earlier/later in the week subject to weather conditions.