by James Ruggia
Last updated: 1:00 AM ET, Tue February 10, 2015
With its wooly green countryside, its wild Atlantic coast and its welcoming pubs sprouting with story tellers, Ireland is a haven for walkers. Your shoes, the most intimate of travel conveyances, are the ideal forms of locomotion in a country that gets more beautiful the closer you get. Ireland will be active this year with a celebration of the 150th birthday of poet William Butler Yeats.
The year-long Yeats 2015 event will celebrate the life, works, influence and achievements of the Nobel-prize winning poet and playwright who was born on June 13, 1865. After last year's celebration and promotion of the Wild Atlantic Way by Tourism Ireland, many travelers will be looking to hit the walking paths to take in the countryside.
Another Irish literary genius, James Joyce, will be at the center of a week-long self-guided ramble that will be highlighted by Dublin's annual celebration of Bloomsday (June 16), when Ireland's Jewish Everyman, Leopold Bloom took his historic ramble through the streets of Dublin as his wife Molly entertained Blazes Boylan. The package comes from Ireland Walk Hike Bike.
In Dublin, on Bloomsday participants follow the trek that's traced out in the novel by Stephen Dedelus and Leopold Bloom. The way it's used in the package, the festival is just the prequel to a self-guided six-day itinerary; City Trek Dublin & Wicklow.
The Bloomsday Festival features Ulysses readings, dramatizations and pub crawls. After Dublin, the trail leads to Wicklow National Park where walkers experience scenic mountain passes and glacial valleys rich in archaeological treasures along the way to Glendalough, a 6th-century monastic settlement in the valley of two lakes. The walks are up to 12 miles per day and include full Irish breakfasts each morning in their reserved lodgings.
A longer eight-day itinerary is also available. Both self-guided tours come with 24-hour emergency support and telephone back-up and both are offered at other times of the year, excluding Bloomsday. Luggage is moved ahead of the walkers to their next destination.
Ireland Walk Hike Bike also offers eight- and 11-Day Walking Tours in County Kerry using a historic stage coach route created in 1815 through historic villages and sites in southwestern Ireland's County Kerry. This self-guided, independent walking tour follows a pre-ordained route equipped with detailed route descriptions, maps and pre-arranged accommodations (with full Irish breakfasts) booked in advance by Ireland Walk Hike Bike. Depending on how many days they can devote to this hike, guests can take the Ring of Kerry 11-Day Self-Guided HIKE from €925 per person double or Ring of Kerry 8-Day Self-Guided HIKE from €749 per person double.
The route follows Charles Bianconi's 1815 route for horse-drawn carriages that was essentially Ireland's first public transport system. He was able to establish regular horse-drawn carriage services from major towns and villages. Buses and coaches were commonly called "Bianconis" well into the 20th century.
Another way to wear out your shoes on the Emerald Isle comes from Hastings Hotels; an independent hotel collection in Northern Ireland is offering a package at the Slieve Donard Resort & Spa. The hotel is located in a pristine setting at the foot of the Mourne Mountains about 30 miles south of Belfast. The hotel offers recommended walking paths from two to six miles in lengths, both leisurely and challenging.
From the top of the Mourne Mountains you can see the Isle of Man, Wicklow, Donegal, Wales, and on a clear day even Scotland. In the winter, the hotel keeps a roaring fireplace going and serves hot toddies, the perfect welcome from a long walk. The hotel's ESPA spa has views across the Irish Sea and Mourne Mountains.
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