Step by Step

By Laura Paquet

A celebratory dream trip to hike the scenic trails of Ireland brings two friends closer together.

Windy Gap is well named. As my friend Stephanie and I made our way along this rocky mountain path in Ireland’s County Kerry, stiff breezes tangled our hair and bit through our jackets. But after hiking several kilometres uphill, we didn’t feel the cold. What we did feel was proud that we’d accomplished this challenge.

STEPHANIE AND LAURA HIKING THE GAP OF DUNDOE

© LAURA PAQUET

Stephanie, who I met more than 25 years ago at work, had suggested doing this walking trip in the southwest corner of Ireland to celebrate her 50th birthday. We’re both half Irish and, while I’d visited Ireland before, Stephanie had never been. It seemed the ideal place to explore together.

We weren’t novices to long-distance walking, having participated in fundraising walks over the years. However, when she first mentioned taking a guided tour of Ireland, I wondered whether we could shape up sufficiently to handle up to 15 kilometres a day. It turns out a dream trip is a powerful motivator. We used the next few months to train, walking together weekly. By the time we boarded our flight to Ireland, I felt ready.

THE CHARMING CITY OF CORK

To get over our jet lag, we first spent a few days in Cork, Ireland’s second-largest city. We took a 20-minute bus trip to Blarney Castle, where the famous stone is rumoured to bestow the gift of the gab. Later, we took a short train ride to the seaport of Cobh nearby to visit the Cobh Heritage Centre, a fascinating museum focused on Irish emigration (including the voyage of the ill-fated Titanic).

The next day, Stephanie and I met our walking group at our Cork hotel. We rolled our luggage to the bus and set off to Killarney National Park, about 90 minutes away. Once there, we warmed up with a largely flat walk, while the bus trundled onward to our next hotel. (That’s one of the advantages to booking an organized tour. Your luggage is shuttled between hotels, so you don’t have to slog along mountain paths carrying all your stuff.)

MUCKROSS HOUSE AND GARDENS

© CHRIS HILL

That easy nine-kilometre stroll through Tomies Wood and the formal rose gardens of Muckross House buoyed our confidence. Our training had paid off, Stephanie and I told ourselves over dinner at our lakeside hotel that night.

Day two saw us hiking 11 kilometres along undulating paths through the Gap of Dunloe, a mountainous corner of Kerry studded with ponds, rocky outcrops and fuchsia trees. Stopping to take photos every 30 seconds or so, Stephanie and I managed the day’s walk with relative ease, and again that night, we congratulated ourselves over well-earned pints and whiskeys. Ah, yes – the food and drink.

CROSSING WISHING BRIDGE IN THE GAP OF DUNLOE

Since we were walking so much, we rationalized that we could eat and drink with abandon. In our small but luxurious hotels, we slathered sweet Kerry butter on warm scones each morning at breakfast. At lunch breaks along the trails, we devoured smoked salmon drizzled with lemon, along with chunks of dense Irish soda bread. In the evenings, we gravitated to eateries with entertainment. In a Kenmare pub, a harp and guitar duo played Irish folk tunes I remembered from childhood. The next night, we cheered a troupe of young students performing highstepping Irish dances at a local restaurant.

SMOKED SALMON ON IRISH SODA BREAD WITH A DARK BEER

By day three, we were both well fed and feeling fit – fortunately, as we face a 14-kilometre hike to Windy Gap. Forgoing the optional shuttles and shortcuts, we dug our walking poles into the trail, puffed past sure-footed sheep and made it to the mountaintop.

Far below, the white houses of Glenbeigh village looked like tiny dice tossed out on a vast green felt table near Dingle Bay. We caught our breath. We took pictures. And we realized that all those Sunday mornings when we’d laced up our running shoes had been worth it.

GLENINCHAQUIN PARK

Windy Gap marked roughly the halfway point of our trip. Other adventures awaited – a bracing walk along windwhipped Rossbeigh Strand, a climb alongside a waterfall sprawling down a mountainside in Gleninchaquin Park, a damp morning of squelching along a muddy track called Old Butter Road, and an afternoon of meandering past jeweltoned shopfronts in Kinsale.

After the trip, back in Canada, Stephanie and I kept up our Sunday walks. More than just a way to keep fit, they became a way to stay connected. Deepening our friendship was the best gift our Irish trip gave us. It has already inspired us to make plans for our next adventure on foot.

Our Experts Suggest…

Looking for an intimate tour? Strap on your hiking boots and follow one of our private guides to explore Ireland’s rugged, untamed, and remote wild west. Follow a range of trails and green roads (tracks of former horse carts) and meander along rivers, lakes and the Atlantic Ocean through woods and among mountains.