Lonely Planet Walking in Ireland [Paperback]

Sandra Bardwell (Author), Helen Fairbairn (Author), Gareth McCormack (Author)

Book Description

Series: Walking | Publication Date: May 1, 2003

Gentle mountains, rugged ridges, wild moorlands, spectacular sea cliffs, remote islands, warm hospitality and the infamous Irish weather - all are part of the wonderful experience that is walking in Ireland. So pack your boots, grab this guide and go!

85 detailed walk descriptions in the Republic and Northern Ireland.
Comprehensive coverage of the Wicklow Way and highlights of Ireland's 38 other Waymarked Ways.
Two-color contour maps for all described walks.
Special sections on wildlife, climate and Gaelic place names.
Practical information about equipment, transport, accommodation, restaurants and pubs.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Nobody covers the world like Lonely Planet.' --New York Post, May 2004

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet; 2 edition (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1864503238
• ISBN-13: 978-1864503234
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #877,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Walking in Ireland, May 18, 2000

By 

Giselle D Smith - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet Walking in Ireland (Paperback)

The Lonely Planet guides are always an honest,open an informative and this is no different. The book gives you detailed information on walks giving you directions such as "100m to the left of the pier" and so on. I find with details like that it's pretty hard to get lost! There is also general information on travelling in Ireland, places to stay, where to eat, what's worth seeing and places to avoid if you want to be in a less visited area. The only thing I would like to see is a little more information on day walks. Many people want day walks around Killarny and Dingle and from the information in the book I'm not sure how to divide up some of the week long walks in to day hikes for people who don't have a week for walking

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Out of Date, July 10, 2005

By 

Traveler Kat (Honolulu) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet Walking in Ireland (Paperback)

I found this book to be very out of date, especially in terms of walking paths, pricing and logistics. I went to Dingle, and found that the hostel they highly recommend as having a free shuttle no longer has a free shuttle or friendly/knowledgeable service. I went on the three day Dingle walk that they outline, and the path had changed (and been changed for several years) and we got quite lost several times by following the directions in the books. The hostels that they indicate offer food no longer exist or don't offer food, and they don't mention anything about how easy it is to find someone to shuttle your baggage from walk to walk. Very disappointed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ireland seems to have changed since the last update of this book, September 2, 2009

By 

Joseph J. Irwin "JJI" (Lancaster, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lonely Planet Walking in Ireland (Paperback)

After having returned from a 16 day hiking-predominant Irish vacation, we found the book at best, a "mixed bag." We found some amazing hikes with the book: Gap of Dunloe, Coomlaghra Horseshoe, Torc Mountain, Mahan Falls. However, some of the directions are rather vague, and require you to traverse private land (pastures mainly). These pastures have locked gates and barbed wire, which as far as I'm concerned, means "stay out." Barbed wire is not to keep the livestock in, but to keep us humans out. For this reason, especially for Coomlaghra horseshoe, there is a real uncomfortable feeling that your are trespassing (perhaps it's just my American sensibilities). What you should know is that this is not England with a beautiful network of "right-of-way" footpaths and gate-styles. You will need to trespass to finish a lot of these hikes. For instance, we drove to the MacGillicudy's reeks walk and drove into this cottage area which was empty and "deserted." The book tells you to park in the lot on behind the barn. When we got there, there were signs everywhere "private property." Then we noticed a coin-box for "parking" for 2 Euro. Unfortunately, the gate to the gravel lot was closed, and nobody was around. Were we supposed to just move the barriers and drive onto this land? We felt very uneasy. There are also some vague directions such as "follow the bitumen road." Does everyone know what a bitumen road is? We looked it up: it's asphalt!

So, although we had a very nice vacation and got in some good hikes, we also had to cancel some hikes (MacGillicudy's and Galtee) due to vagueness and private property concerns. It was incredibly frustrating to drive 1 or more hours to hike (you don't get anywhere in Ireland rapidly), only to get "turned around." I do remember throwing the book once or twice. Having said that, I'm not sure what else is out there. Ireland is evolving as a hiking country, but really has very far to go before I would recommend such a trip there. Go to England instead, or mainland Europe, but not Ireland.