Slieve Bloom Way
Located in the heart of the midlands, the remote and relatively untrammeled Slieve Bloom Mountains provide a wealth of walking opportunities.
Though the Slieve Blooms provide a sense of remoteness, they are quite centrally located and easily accessible: less than 2 hours from Dublin, Shannon, Rosslare, Cork and Galway. For some reason the Slieve Blooms have been overlooked. This mountain range, straddling the Counties of Offaly and Laois, are an almost forgotten oasis of tranquility in the heart of Ireland where the pace of life is one step behind.
The Slieve Blooms provide this sense, everywhere through the landscape, of places wild and untrammeled: as if you’re you are seeing the land as it was when Ireland’s first inhabitants experienced it some 5,000 years ago. These are places off the beaten track, well worth exploring!
And while the people in the Midland region certainly occupy modern Ireland in every sense, the warmth of their welcome harkens from an earlier time. They're generally pleased you've gone out of your way to explore their beautiful countryside.
The Slieve Blooms can be used for short looped walks, or you could take the 77km circular route that is the Slieve Bloom Way. A trip to the Slieve Blooms can be easily combined with trail rides, visitor farms and even farmers markets. No matter where you travel in Ireland, you are probably passing through or go very close, so why not let us suggest some interesting additions in your itinerary.
