St. Declan’s Way – The Gathering 2013 Walk
The first organised full-length walk of St. Declan’s Way all the way from Cashel to Ardmore took place from July 24th to 28th 2013. 110 walkers from around the world participated in the event which was support by the Gathering initiative. This followed on from a very successful walk from Ardfinnan to Ardmore in 2012. The walk is being organised part of the nationwide celebration of The Gathering Ireland 2013 so we are encouraging participation from all corners of the globe.
St. Declan’s Way is a well known Christian pilgrimage route in the south-east of Ireland linking Cashel in Co. Tipperary and Ardmore in Co. Waterford. This particular walk is being organised to coincide with St. Declan’s Feast Day in Ardmore with participants walking an average of 20km per day over five days. The walk will depart Cashel and visit Cahir on Wednesday July 24th. Day two (July 25th) takes a relatively short route to Ardfinnan on what is predominantly a flat route. From here on Friday July 26th the walk will ascend the Knockmealdown Mountains at Goatenbridge, passing over Bottleneck Pass (500m) at Goatenbridge to Lismore – this is the most difficult walk on the route. From Lismore the walk is back on flat terrain on Saturday July 27th with a pleasant amble to Aglish. Finally, on Sunday July 28th the walkers will stroll through the tranquil countryside and villages of West Waterford, reaching Ardmore on the coast on what is, very fittingly, the end of the Ardmore Pattern Festival. The walk is being organised in conjunction with our friends in the Knockmealdown Forum on the Waterford side of the Knockmealdown Mountains and is a part of the Gathering Ireland 2013 festival.
This was the first organised full-length walk of the route in many years. It appealed to walking enthusiasts but also to visitors who have a connection with one of the many towns and villages along the route. There is a strong traditional link between St. Declan and emigrants who have left West Waterford in particular. Walkers had the option of joining the walk for portions of the route if they wished.
Accommodation
Should you wish to walk St. Declan’s Way yourself, below you’ll find a list of accommodation at the various stop points which was used for the 2013 walk.
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[gview file=”http://www.knockmealdownactive.com/PDF/SDW-Accommodation.pdf” height=”775px” save=”1″]
You’ll find details of the St. Declan’s Way Gathering 2013 Walk initiative at the following two links on the Gathering Ireland 2013 website: Tipperary & Waterford.
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Bus Travel from Dublin Airport:
Note: If you can’t see the bus timetable below you may need to download the most recent version of Adobe Reader – it is available for free from Adobe. Reload this page once you’ve downloaded the reader and you should be able to view the content. There is also a download link underneath to save it to your own computer.
[gview file=”http://www.knockmealdownactive.com/PDF/Bus%20Eireann%20-%20Dublin%20Airport%20to%20Cahir-Cashel.pdf” height=”850px” save=”1″]
hi just wondering about the organised part ie is there buses to bring you back to your car etc is the accommadation organised one part says its on in july then the next sentence says its being organised to coincide with st patricks weekend. i’d like to take part if its organised.
take care john mac
Hi John,
Yes, there will be busses to bring people back to their cars or accommodation. Apologies for the mix up with St. Patrick’s Weekend, it was originally meant to run that weekend but we had to await confirmation of the event being passed by the Gathering, which didn’t happen until early January. At that stage we felt it was too late to initiate the event in March so we moved it out to St. Declan’s Feast day in July. We’ll have full details of accommodation and transport on the site in the coming weeks and it will also be possible to book the event, or whatever portion of it you wish to undertake, at that stage.
Looks a fantastic route and experience. Great to see this sort of event being organised in Ireland. I might well come down and do at least part of it!
Hi, just wondering how many people you are expecting on this walk ?
I am coming to Ireland (from Australia) in July as part of my 50th birthday celebration, my maiden name is Byrne and have connections with Ardmore my gg grandfather was born and raised there.My husband and I were going to do this independently but I stumbled upon your website and thought it might be fun in a group.
Hi Kim,
the upper limit for the walk is around 100 but we’re not near that level yet. The walk is starting to get a bit of coverage in the media over here, though, so if you are booking it I’d advise doing it fairly soon.
Thank you for your reply, I have now booked us on the walk and look forward to our experience. Can you please advise me on the best means of transport to the starting point, we expect to arrive into Dublin on 19th July (my 50th, sadly) and probably will stay in Cashel the night prior to walk.
Any suggestions ? Regards Kim
Hi Kim,
many thanks for signing up, we’re very much looking forward to having you with us over the five days.
Bus Eireann (http://www.buseireann.ie/) is probably your best option for travel from Dublin (I’ve included the airport service above, but you may need to book from somewhere else if you’ve been staying in Dublin for the days prior to the walk). There is no train service to Cashel unfortunately, but you can get a train from Heuston Station to Thurles (direct) or Cahir (via Limerick Junction). Bus is direct, cheaper and a lot less hassle.
Just note we’ll be starting from Cahir on the first morning, getting a bus to Cashel, but we can easily meet up with you in Cashel on the first morning. You should have received your itinerary on booking, if not just drop me a line and I’ll send it on to you.
Hi there I am very interested in doing this walk. It sounds wonderful
I would like to register for this walk.
Hi Elizabeth.
Many thanks for your kind comments. You can register for the walk by clicking on the ‘Click Here to Book now’ graphic in the middle of the post or you can just use this link – http://www.kmdact.com.
Looking forward to seeing you on the walk.
KMDActive
Hi Guys,
Just wondering what time the walks start and finish each day?
Regards,
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
the walks start at 10am each morning, finishing at around 4.30 to 5pm, depending on the speed of the walking group. There is a break for lunch in between and there will be stops along the way.
Thats brillant, Thank You.