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There are great ridge walks that take up to two days to complete, and there are circuits suitable for full or half-days. There are easier walks that take you up smaller hills, often with better views than their bigger neighbors. For the rambler there are exciting coastal walks, river and canal towpaths, quiet country roads, and the network of long distance Waymarked Ways. All these walks have one thing in common - they are unfrequented. It is a pleasure, and a chance to talk, when you meet other walkers. Many visitors come to Ireland to walk the hills. However a word of warning: our hills are unfrequented and mostly pathless, and the mist can come down quite quickly. Anyone who goes above the 500-metre level should carry a map and compass - and know how to use them!

Much of the beauty of the Irish landscape is due to its climate. Because of its location on the Atlantic seaboard, Ireland is the first stop for cyclonic weather coming from the West, and its variety of weather produces the light and shade, changing colours, clear light and sparkle which are the attraction of the Irish hills, streams and the sea.

Climate.

Ireland has a good climate for walking. It is not oppressively hot in summer, not very cold in winter (snow rarely lies for long, even on the higher hills). But the weather does dictate some care in your selection of clothing. Good raingear is essential, as is some warm clothing for windy days. The ground is often boggy and sometimes slippery, so good waterproof footwear with moulded rubber soles is recommended.

Access.

There are rarely problems of access in the hills. Except in Wicklow and the Mourne Mountains, walkers are few, and hill farmers are often glad to see a stranger. Please remember that the land you walk is (except for the roads, national parks and state forests) the property of a farmer trying to make a living for himself and his family. So be careful to close gates and don't damage fences. And of course, if you meet the owner of the land, ask his permission.

Waymarked Ways.

For the less adventurous, Ireland's growing network of 25 Waymarked Ways offers an opportunity to explore the landscape safely and easily. They vary from the quite demanding Ways through the mountains of the West to the shore of Lough Derg and the peaceful towpath of the River Barrow. Even the Ways through the mountains rarely rise above 300 metres, and no-one carrying the mapguide should have difficulty finding their way. Even the adventurous walker will find these Ways useful, since they often cross private land which would otherwise be closed and give access to the open hillsides. It is also frequently possible to use sections of these Ways to make one-day or shorter circular walks. Accommodation can normally be found every 15 kilometres or so.

Maps and Guidebooks.

The standard map for walkers is the 1:50,000 series. This is a new series, and the whole country is not yet covered. However maps of almost all of the good walking areas have been published, and the remaining few are covered, though not by any means as satisfactorily, by the other half-inch to 1 mile (1:126,720) series. For planning there is an up-to-date set of four maps at 1:1250,000 which covers the whole island, North and South. There are numerous walkers' guidebooks, both regional and general.

THE NORTHWEST

The Northwest offers great contrasts. In counties Sligo and Leitrim you will find limestone terrain, dry walking underfoot, great views over the Atlantic, and a contrast between bare limestone plateaux and the rich, lake-filled valleys. This is the country made famous by the Nobel Prize winning poet W.B. Yeats, and its dominant feature is the huge brow of Benbulben.

In County Donegal you are in wilder country, amongst the oldest mountains in Ireland - or the world. Inland there are many mountain ranges. In South Donegal, the Bluestack Mountains, unfrequented and the setting for many folktales also have one of Ireland's finest waterfalls, with the evocative name of the Grey Mare's Tail. Further north the Glenveagh Mountains are formed of rough grey granite and have fine walks in their cliff bound valleys and on their high heathery plateaux. From these peaks you can look across a lake filled valley to the solid mass of Muckish Mountain and the contrasting cone of Mount Errigal - at 752 metres the highest summit in the Northwest.

Among these hills is Glenveagh National Park, known for it herds of deer. Finally, away to the north in the Inishowen Peninsula is the isolated Slieve Snaght, only a few kilometres from Malin Head, Ireland's northernmost point.

The coast must also be visited. A day's walk will take you over Slieve League, Ireland's highest sea cliff (600 metres) and then, with an overnight at Glencolumbkille, along a coast of strikingly beautiful deep creeks, towering pinnacles and rocky islets, with huge numbers of sea birds.

THE WEST

The west is a blend of hills and sea. Climb Mweelrea, the highest mountain of the West, and the sea is on two sides of you; climb Croaghaun on Achill Island, and it is as if you are on a ship pointing to America, with sea on three sides. This blend ensures that counties Galway and Mayo have some of Ireland's finest scenery, especially around Killary Harbour, a long, narrow, deep fjord that penetrates far into the mountains. To the south of Killary, in County Galway, are the Twelve Bens and Maumturks ranges. The Bens are bare rocky mountains, rising only to 600 or 700 metres, but impressive because they rise directly from sea level and every metre has to be climbed on foot. The similar Maumturks offer perhaps the best long mountain walk in Ireland. North of Killary in County Mayo, there is an abrupt change to sandstone mountains with rounded ridges edged by dark, rocky cirques. Mweelrea itself, the Party Mountains, the Nephin mountains north of Clew Bay, offer easier walking than in County Galway. Rarely frequented, they give a magnificent wilderness experience. There is also superb walking on the high cliffs of the north Mayo Coast. Centrally, overlooking Clew Bay, is the 764-metre cone of Croagh Patrick, Saint Patrick's holy mountain, scene of a huge pilgrimage each July. If you prefer a waymarked trail, the Western Way winds its way amongst all these hills, never rising above 300 metres, from Oughterard near Galway City to the north Mayo coast, before turning back east towards Sligo, and a junction with the Foxford Way which circles the farming country of East Mayo.

THE BURREN

The Burren in County Clare is unique in Ireland. It is an area of some 400 square kilometres of bare grey limestone. Come to visit it in late spring and early summer, and from the protection of the cracks which seam the rock appears a wonderful collection of over 600 species of flowers. They are not only beautiful to look at, but of a diversity which excites botanists, for here are species like gentians, more at home in the Alps, mixed with Arctic species like Mountain Avens and other flowers found elsewhere no nearer than the Mediterranean. But please don't pick flowers of take away plants, as they are irreplaceable. The rolling hills of the Burren are good to walk over, dry underfoot and mostly gently sloping. It has many old green tracks and by-roads, sheltered patches where bushes and small trees grow, and may signs of ancient occupation, stone forts, cairns and dolmens, relics of a time when the area was less barren. In the Burren, the visitor will find many small, welcoming villages and pubs, notably Doolin, internationally famous for Irish music. The Burren Way traverses this limestone plateau and will lead you to the Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland's greatest natural wonders, falling vertically for 200 metres into the Atlantic.

THE SOUTHWEST

The five west-pointing fingers (the five peninsulas of County Kerry and West Cork) contain nearly half the mountains of Ireland. Pride of place must go to the Iveragh Peninsula; here are the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, with the highest mountain in Ireland, Carrauntoohill (1039 metres high) and half a dozen more nearly as high, all offering fine walking for the experienced. Further west is a wilderness mountain area of crags and lakes, glacial cirques and waterfalls.

The Dingle Peninsula, the northernmost, has Mount Brandon, held by many to be the most beautiful mountain in these islands. There is an easy way up from the west, but to climb it from any other direction is a great walking challenge. Plenty of other mountains form a long backbone that the experienced walker can walk, perhaps, in two days. As you move south, the mountains get smaller, but the third peninsula, Beara, offers almost as much mountain walking as its two more famous neighbors. South again is the small Sheep's Head Peninsula, known only to a few discerning visitors, who keep quiet about its small-scale delights of seascape and hill. Finally there is the Mizen Head Peninsula, less mountainous but still worth a walker's interest for its variety of hill and coast. The Southwest is proud to have four Waymarked Ways, each taking a circular route round a peninsula. The Kerry (Iveragh) and Dingle Ways have long been popular with walkers from mainland Europe, but more recently Ways have been opened round both Beara and Sheep's Head.

THE SOUTHEAST

The Southeast has some of the finest farmland in Ireland, and also has some very fine mountains for walking. The Comeragh and Monavullagh mountains have rather boggy summit plateaux, but this is more than counterbalanced by the very beautiful glacial cirques, now filled with lakes, which fringe them.

Northwest of them are the Galty Mountains, a long range with fine summits, of which Galtymore is the highest and, at 919 metres, one of the highest peaks outside County Kerry. To walk the full length of this range is a great day's experience.

Facing the Galtys across a wide fertile valley is the Knockmealdown range; it too has fine summits, giving a good, but less demanding walk than the Galty ridge.

These three ranges are the main attractions for walkers, but there are several smaller mountain areas - the Blackstairs, isolated Slievenamon, and the Ballyhoura Mountains - to attract the walker. The Southeast is well served with Waymarked Ways. Coming down from the direction of Dublin, the South Leinster Way brings you across the Blackstairs Mountains and down the Barrow Valley to the Comeragh Mountains. The East Munster Way takes you along the lower slopes of the Comeraghs and the Knockmealdowns, and the Blackwater Way will deliver you to County Kerry. There is also the Ballyhoura Way, partly in the mountains, partly across the fertile Glen of Aherlow, and lastly the Barrow towpath, which leads gently along the back of this very beautiful river.

THE EAST

The East centres on Dublin a capital city that has few equals in accessibility to good walking. You can see the hills from the City Street, and a bus ride will take you to the start of half-a-dozen walks that will keep you happy for an hour or two. Further away but still easily accessible for a day's walk are the Wicklow Mountains, a 100 kilometre long rounded ridge of granite into which the Ice Age carved some beautiful valleys of which Luggala and Glendalough are the finest. There are many circular walks to be made in these mountains, with access from the good roads, which edge them both to the east and west, which are well-served with buses. The walking is generally easy, though there are boggy sections to be crossed. The main ridge makes a fine long day's walk over a series of rounded summits. On a clear day you can see Snowdon Mountain in Wales. Because they are close to Dublin, you will find plenty of walkers out on these hills at weekends, but if you want solitude you can find it during the week.

The Wicklow Way starts in Marlay Park a short bus ride from Dublin city centre and works its way down the east side of the mountains, looking into the best of the valleys as it goes south through woods, over rough pasture and along lanes, the first section of a Waymarked Way that you can follow all the way to Kerry.

THE NORTHEAST

The finest hills of the Northeast are the Mourne Mountains, a compact group of granite peaks. Slieve Donard (850 metres) is the highest mountain in Ulster, but there are others at least as worthy, notably Slieve Bearnagh and Slieve Binnian, with their rocky summit tors, haunt of rock-climbers, but still accessible to walkers. Shaped like a trident, the Mournes offer splendid circular walks, fairly short but with plenty of ascent and descent. You can also fill a full day by walking the stone wall, which follows the outer perimeter of summits.

Across Carlingford Lough is the Carlingford (or Cooley) Peninsula. It is small, but its highest summit Slieve Foye offers a long rough, rocky ridge, and the bonus of fine views across Carlingford Lough (actually an estuary) to the Mournes. The small town of Carlingford, the natural starting place has many fine mediaeval buildings.

The Tain Trail, a circular Waymarked Way around the Carlingford Peninsula, is a two-day walk. Around the northern lower slopes of the Mournes you can follow a section of the Ulster Way, an 800-kilometre walk which circles Northern Ireland.

THE CENTRE

Ireland, it is often said, is shaped like a saucer, with hills round the rim and a flat plain in the centre. As a generalisation this is true, but there are enough hills to make it worth while for the walker to visit the Central Plain.

Right in the middle are the Slieve Bloom Mountains. The wooded valleys are the most interesting parts of the Slieve Blooms, and you can visit them all by following the waymarked Slieve Bloom Way (70 Kilometres ). There are other hills to break up the plain. Towards Limerick are Keeper Hill, the Slieve Felim, and Silvermines Mountain (no silver there now!) which offer pleasant walking among unfrequented hills and valleys. (The area is served by the Slieve Felim Way).