Activities There are some who visit Ballynahinch Castle Hotel and Estate and never leave the grounds, such is the choice of activities available. Hiking our trails, taking a fly-fishing tutorial, playing tennis, biking, or simply sitting in the tranquillity of the grounds listening to the song of the river as it makes its interminable journey to the sea; there are so many ways to engage with Connemara. One of the great attractions of Ballynahinch Castle is that all these activities are easily accessible without difficulty and delivered by professional and enthusiastic guides. Every morning our fishery manager Simon, and our walking guide Noel are available in the pub at 9.30am for a coffee and a chat. Whether you have already booked an activity, want to do so or are simply seeking advice; they will ensure that your day gets off to a great start at one of the best luxury hotels Galway has to offer.
Walking Located in the heart of Connemara, Ballynahinch Castle Hotel is the ideal base for walking holidays in the West of Ireland. Our extensive grounds offer the perfect opportunity for a gentle amble by the Owenmore river before dinner or for a more prolonged stroll around the Castle's picturesque shores of Ballynahinch Lake and woodlands. There are over 10km of walks mapped out around our 450 acre estate all of which contain stunning scenery and natural beauty. Our in-house walking guide can also take you on a 2.5 hours guided tour of the estate. Our guided tours will bring you on a journey around some of our beautiful estate. Along our journey, stunning lakeshore views, mountain scenery and majestic trees will form the perfect backdrop for tales about the Castle’s history, archaeology and some of its more colourful residents.
Hiking Further afield The Twelve Bens, Maumturk Mountains and surrounding countryside offer unlimited walking possibilities. Our in house walking guide can take you on a guided tour of some of these stunning locations around Connemara. Our narrated walks include everything from local lore and legend, the history of the surrounding landscape and environment as well as the area’s flora and fauna. One of the most popular walks in Connemara is Diamond Hill. This walk will allow you to enjoy the varied range of landscapes that surround Connemara. You can choose from the Upper or Lower Diamond Hill trail. Here you will be witness to the scenic views that are unique to Connemara. The trail traces its way through some of the 3,000 hectares of woodland, bog and mountains of the Connemara National Park. Gravel footpaths and wooden boardwalks ease your route over the bog as you approach the mountains. The challenging route up the ridge of the mountains will reward your efforts with stunning panoramic vistas. Another popular route is Inishbofin. Here you will find three looped walks, Middlequarter Loop (8kms at moderate grade), Westquarter loop (8kms at moderate grade) and Inishbofin Cloonamore Loop (5kms at moderate grade). Here you will find views of the Atlantic Coast, beaches a 14th Century Chapel and Church Lough.
Fishing The Ballynahinch Catchment drains an area of 68 square miles and is a diverse system of interconnected loughs and rivers, drained by the Ballynahinch River and offering the very best of fly fishing in Ireland. This majestic river, with fishing rights owned exclusively by the Ballynahinch Estate, winds its way underneath the Castle for three kilometres until it reaches the wild Atlantic Ocean at Bertraghboy Bay, Connemara Ireland. All salmon and sea trout entering this magnificent system must swim up this river through the Ballynahinch Castle Hotel Estate giving Ballynahinch its world-renowned reputation as a famous salmon and sea trout fishery. The season officially opens on 1st February and extends to the 30th September. The effective season, however, begins with a small run of large spring salmon, averaging 10lbs, in early to mid-March extending into May. Ballynahinch is, however, traditionally a summer fishery. The main run of grilse (salmon that have been at sea for one winter) appears in late June with fresh fish continuing to turn up until the last day of the season. The Ballynahinch grilse are traditionally very large, by Irish standards, averaging 6-7lbs with grilse up to 9lbs being caught late in the season. The closure of the Irish drift net fishery in 2007 has had a profound impact on the stocks at Ballynahinch with the run of salmon doubling in the first year. The average size of salmon has also increased given that the larger fish were being taken by the nets as they returned to the coast. Ballynahinch was a celebrated fishery for its colossal catches of sea trout. During the nineties and up to four years ago the stocks of these stunningly energetic fish were seriously damaged by local salmon aquaculture and its attendant parasites. Since the downsizing of the salmon farm in the estuary, the stocks have bounced back at an alarming rate and the fishery is on the road to being one of the premier sea trout fisheries again. Catches increased by 12 fold in the first year of the recovery. The best sea trout fishing is from early June until the end of July.
Islands & Lobster Experience
Take a guided boat trip on Roundstone Bay and visit the deserted, picturesque island of Inishlacken with one of the staff of Ballynahinch, John Sullivan; an experienced skipper and lobster fisherman from the nearby island of Inishnee. On your journey you will visit the grey seal colony located in the Ballynahinch estuary, whilst also spotting numerous sea birds such as Terns, Guillemots, Gannets plus other thriving fauna.
The highlight of the trip for most is the visit to Inishlacken, an idyllic island of stone walls, white sandy beaches, nesting sea birds and ruined houses; echoing of a way of life now lost. With a population of nearly 200 residents in 1900, the last Islanders departed in the 1980s. This is the perfect way to explore the Wild Atlantic Way.
Clay Shooting Sporting Clay Shoot and Tuition For both ladies and gentlemen, for the complete novice who has never touched a gun, for an experienced shot who would like to enjoy an hours shooting, a competitor who needs some coaching with a problematic target or indeed someone who would like to improve their general ability with a shotgun, the Connemara Shooting School at Ballynahinch Castle Hotel will take you through every aspect of safety, gun handling and the methods for breaking all your targets. We can cater for groups of three or more, either business related or families that would like to shoot our driven bird flush. If you are travelling light or from abroad, you need no equipment of your own, we can provide you with all your needs and can offer a range of suitably lighter, more gentle guns for ladies or younger individuals. Our chief instructor Shane was trained by the renowned Holland & Holland Shooting School in West London. He then opened his own shooting school in Co. Wicklow in 1979 and has been teaching almost continuously ever since. This has taken him too many locations in the USA, Mexico and the United Kingdom and he has taught both ladies and gentlemen up to International and Olympic standard. Now based in the west of Ireland, Shane works with shooting syndicates, company groups and clubs who will enjoy the remarkable facilities at Ballynahinch Castle. For first time shooting enthusiasts wishing to license a gun in Ireland, Shane is authorised to provide 'Safety Courses' as required by the Garda Siochana and will certify the individual upon completion of the 2 hour course.