IF YOU SPEND every Sunday night curled into a ball on the couch wondering where the weekend went, it might be worth thinking about doing something different with your time off.
While some weekends call for nothing other than staying out until the early hours, over time it can be draining.
This weekend, why not try something that’s good for your body and your mind, like going for a hike or a walk? Exercise is renowned for improving your mood, boosting energy and promoting better sleep, while spending time in nature can reduce stress and improve your ability to focus.
Interested? Here are six walks and hikes to try this weekend, as recommended by our readers.
1. Head to Tipperary for a touch of magic
The Glen of Aherlow looped walks in Tipperary are really special. There are eight in total; five set off from Christ the King trailhead and the others begin at Lisvarrinane. All range from easy to moderate. Along the routes you’re treated to breathtaking views of the Galtee Mountains as you amble through gentle hills and peaceful forests. It always feels so calm and you usually come across more fairy doors than actual people.
My favourite time to visit is late summer/early autumn when the grass of the Galtees is so intensely green it’s almost blinding and the blackberry bushes are in full bloom.
- Sasha
2. Try a lesser-known route in Howth
Of all of the walks in Howth, I feel like this one is slightly lesser-known. Head to Deer Park Golf Club and follow the path towards the woodland, beyond the club house. There’s a pretty steep incline on the way up, but there are pockets of flat ground underneath intertwined branches that’ll make you feel like you’re deep in the countryside.
There’s a few different paths to take, but keep moving up and, before you know it, you’ll pop back out into the light and at the top of the hill. The views are beautiful, it’s so peaceful and – best of all – it only takes about 30 minutes to reach the top. Depending on the time of year you go, there are often beautiful sheets of rhododendrons to admire, too.
- Amy
3. Take a trip to Waterford for lake views (and sheep)
Even though my childhood weekends were based on walks within the Wicklow Mountains, my favourite walk is around Coumshingaun Lough in the Comeragh Mountains. It’s split into three stages and the first part is a quite flat terrain through a forestry track. Wild gorse and heather bushes stand either side of the track, and it takes the average person around an hour until you reach the lough itself. My favourite part of the walk is up a steep, rocky path until you reach the top and can look down on the lake itself.
After that, it’s a nice flat and easy walk around the horseshoe -shaped lake until reaching the other side. It takes about an hour to do that, including stopping to look down at sheep and wondering how they get to where they are in the steep cliff face. From the other side, it’s a nice simple walk down to the car.
- George
4. Journey up Djouce for a glimpse of Wales
It would have to be the walk to Djouce mountain from Ballinastoe wood. Park at the forestry car park and follow the track to the first fire break. From there you will meet a green way track that brings you along the forestry edge. After 30 minutes, you will meet the main track. Follow this track to the summit, which takes another 30 minutes. The views from the top are amazing. To the north you can see Dublin Bay, while to the east on a clear day you can see the mountains of Wales. Return by the same route for a well-earned coffee at the cafe.
- Mary
5. Enjoy a piece of history (and raise your heart rate) in the Wicklow Mountains
This short but testing walk in the Wicklow Mountains is my favourite walk as it incorporates all I love about hill-walking, woodland, isolation and open mountains. Starting at Oakwood on the Wicklow Gap Road you quickly climb through the forestry onto Oakwood Hill. Ahead in the distance you can see Art’s Cross, which was put up to commemorate the escape of Art O’Neill from Dublin Castle in 1592.
Following the ridge, you quickly come to the cross where you get amazing views over the Wicklow Mountains and the Blessington Lakes in the distance. Continue your ridge walk onto Carrick Mountain before descending into the beautiful Glenremore Valley. Following the track beside the river, you arrive back at your starting point. This walk can be achieved by a fit walker in three hours.
- Mick
6. Tuck into homemade sambos during a romantic stroll through Devil’s Glen Forest
Myself and my husband love the Devil’s Glen Forest in Ashford, Co Wicklow. We’ve done both the Seamus Heaney Walk and Waterfall Walk. Both take about two to three hours and anybody with moderate fitness will manage them. The walks meander through the beautiful forest, and along the way you’ll spot Seamus Heaney quotes carved delicately into stone signs that sum up the mood of that particular vantage point. When you reach the cascading waterfall nestled deep in the forest, for example, you’ll see, “when we find the ring, I’ll propose”, making it the ideal spot for the romantics out there seeking to pop the question in an undeniably stunning (yet also surprisingly private) location.
Eagle-eyed trekkers might also notice sculptures in the trees along the way. We love the part of the walk where the Vartry River gently bends in direction and a large rock pool (perfect for stone-skimming) opens up. The water’s edge is lined with weeping willows and a dutiful little bench offers the perfect spot for some homemade sambos while you take it all in. All of this ads to the relaxed and unaffected charm of the place.
- Grainne
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