Walk of the Month

Rinn Mhaoile - Doire Herbeirt agus Doire Inbhear Renvyle - Derryherbert and Derryinver

Walk of the month

Start / Finish Tully Cross Terrain Paved road, and track Distance 5km / 1.5 hours approx Grade Easy to moderate

Renvyle - Image courtesy of Robert Riddell

Park at the village of Tullycross and walk back along the main Letterfrack road, descending towards the speed-limit sign at the village entrance. Our route begins with a right turn just beyond this sign, sloping down the hill to Derryherbert.

Ahead, we see the omnipresent Tully Mountain (Leitir Hill) and the water tank on the hillock to our right. The line of the road follows the contour of this hill, overlooking blanket bog on the left. The shelter and drier soil provided by this hillock have allowed ash and hawthorn to flourish in these hedgerows.

By taking the first left-hand turn we come to, we are brought out across these blanket bogs. Tully Mountain is now on our right, while Diamond Hill and some of the distant Twelve Bens lie off to our left.

From the banks left behind by centuries of turf harvesting, an appreciation is gained of the depth of the peat in sheltered, low-lying bogs such as these. Ancient Scots pine stumps and trunks protrude from the cutaway peat, physical remains of an extensive woodland that stretched across this landscape thousands of years ago. Wheatears, stonechats and skylarks can be spotted, and ravens patrol the mountainside.

To the left, on the ridge of the nearby hillock, you can see a stone alignment on the horizon. Known locally as the Fairy Fingers, this is a Bronze-Age stone arrangement marking a ritual site to align with the setting sun on the winter solstice (December 21). It is located in close proximity to other prehistoric features and is typical of the rich archaeological heritage of the Renvyle Peninsula.

The track soon rises up on to drier ground and, once past the houses, our route takes us left down the hill towards the Derryinver Bay. At the bottom, a small fishing harbour will be visible to your right but keep left and follow the estuary back to the bridge. This is a famous spot to see salmon leaping up the falls into the Dawros River to spawn each summer. At the bridge, we turn left towards Tullycross and our starting point about a mile back the road.

Source: ‘Walking in Connemara: Shorter Walks to Explore the Hidden Connemara’, Connemara Tourism 1996.