Cong Woods History, Legends & Nature
Cong Woods History, Legends & Nature
This lovely gentle day hike takes us between Cong in south County Mayo and Clonbur (An Fhairche) in neighbouring Galway.
Dominated by great lakes and attractive woods, this is a beautiful place to take a gentle stroll through lovely nature.
Throughout high summer, this lovely walk abounds in wildflowers, with all the stunning Orchids along the way of particular interest.
Next Dates : Not currently scheduled – please check again during 2024.
Location : We start at Cong village, near Ballinrobe, south Mayo and finish at nearby Clonbur . The walk is entirely off-road on 14 km of forest trails.
Level : Easy. This is a one-way walk, with a lift back to the start afterwards (included). Having said that, you still need to be comfortable walking for up to 6 hours, including loads of stops.
Duration : approx. 5 – 6 hours.
Description :
Discover the history and nature of this wonderful place, along with some of its most endearing legends.
This is a lovely gentle walking tour through native woodland, along Lough Mask’s shoreline and taking in the “Mini Burren” of limestone pavement, a ruined castle, caves and wetland habitats. We walk along an old forest track, created in the early 20th Century for the Guinness family of Ashford Castle, allowing them to take a day trip by carriage along the shore of Lough Mask and through the forest.
The woodlands we encounter are a mix of exotics and native broadleaves. Conifers have been removed from large areas in order to allow the regeneration of native trees, like Ash. Exotic trees planted at the time of the Guinness estate add to the variety we meet and are mature, with healthy undergrowth of wildlflowers as we go along.
Price includes picnic lunch and lift back to start.
The mini Burren on the shores of Lough Mask presents a new habitat, with early Orchids and prostrate Juniper among other interesting plant species to be seen.
Curious features like the sink holes of this limestone landscape, the underpasses along the trail and the disappearing and re-appearing river add to the day. There’s also the wonderful ruin of Ballykine Castle, hidden among the Beech trees to discover, as well as Cong Abbey in the village.
Our walk is entirely flat, with no rises of any note. No matter what level of walker you are, once you have reasonable fitness, this is a relaxing, gentle walk that you can comfortably take part in and enjoy. Just bring along water, snacks and your camera!
A lift back to the start is included. Numbers are limited.
Learn more about what we will discover along our Cong woods history, legends and nature walk, from this post.
