Sometimes I just come across a walk that I don’t want to share – the Vale of Clara falls into that category. We wanted a walk that was only a few hours and did not include walking up to the peak of a hill.
We found this walk in an old book about walks in Ireland. The book however had been published long before the current trails were laid out.
At some point in the past you had to get there and navigate around the route using a map and compass, as there are so many paths – so which did you follow. It is not like that now, there are three loop walks laid out and very well sign posted. The longest is 9.5km and takes between 2 and 3 hours depending on how fast you want to walk.
Getting there from Dublin is easy, drive south out of Dublin on the N11. You have a choice of leaving the N11 at Ashford and driving to Laragh, drive south from Laragh on the R755. The turn off to Clara comes after about 15 minutes, (7 or 8 km).
Clara is known as the smallest village or hamlet in Ireland, two houses and the ubiquitous church. Drive over the bridge and follow the road up the hill for a few minutes. There may be parking in Clara itself, but try going further up to the gates where the walk starts, as there will be more space for parking – and you won’t have to walk up a fairly steep hill before you even start.
The walks themselves are easy going. The blue walk, which is the longest, starts with an easy stroll along the side of the river for about 3km. After that the path turns left uphill out of the old forest and for the first time you will have good views over the surrounding countryside.
All the walks are along good paths, though boots are required as it can get wet in places. This walk is incredibly quiet, so if you want some peace from the busy walks at Glendalough and the likes, this is somewhere new to try.
No maps are required, the whole route is very well sign posted.
