MORE TO KNOCKNAREA TRAIL
THE new Queen Maeve Trail has become a very popular walking destination for Sligo people and visitors alike. Ranked number 1 on Tripadvisor for things to do in Sligo, the Knocknarea walk is a great outing for walking groups, families and individuals, and is very convenient, located as it is between Sligo town and Strandhill.
The good news is that this super walk is about to become even better!
This Spring, the trail is being extended, enabling walkers to do a start-to-finish looped walk, as opposed to the current linear route.
This means that, for example if you decide to walk from Strandhill up towards the cairn on Knocknarea, you will not only be able to descend on the other side via the traditional route, but you’ ll also be able to join a new leg of the walk, enabling you to return to your original starting point without having to double back along the route you’ve just taken.
Alternatively, if you start your walk on the original Glen Road side of the mountain, you will now have a choice of access routes.
You can take the original walk along the stone path to the left towards the summit, or you can, by taking the new route to the right, head away from the mountain towards Rathcarrick Wood, before the route turns back towards the mountain, eventually connecting with the trail overlooking Strandhill.
The new leg of the route is closed to the public for another month or so – it will be launched officially in May, but Coillte were kind enough to invite me to walk the route in its entirety recently, as you can see from the photos I took.
The entire loop can be done in under two hours and is a very pleasant way to pass a few hours, especially with improvement in the weather.
The route is accessed along a pathway, which means most of the terrain is accessible in any weather, just remember that the top of the mountain can be wet even in dry weather, and of course a hard frost can make the boardwalk slippy.
The new leg of the walk is sure to increase walker numbers on the mountain, which, as we know can be both a good and a bad thing.
Sligo County Council installed a number of counters along the route some time back, and these reveal that in excess of 70,000 walkers climbed Knocknarea last year, and this number is sure to increase as the word gets out.
The cairn which lies on top of Knocknarea is an ancient burial site – reputedly that of the famous warrior Queen Médb of Connacht – and is an important archaeological site which may have stood for the past 5,000 years.
In more recent times, the condition of the cairn has deteriorated – due in part to the decision some walkers take to climb the cairn itself, despite signs appealing to us not to do so. As part of the new trail works, it is intended to improve the signage, as – especially for those who approach the cairn from the Strandhill side – signage is difficult to spot, especially for walkers new to the route.
The question arises – if we see people walking on the cairn, what should we say to them? Should we run the risk of provocation by asking them to come down from the cairn, or ignore any possible damage being done?
That’s a difficult question to answer, and no doubt the archaeologists will ask people to refrain from walking on the cairn to begin with, rather than expect the public to marshall the walking activities of others while trying to enjoy a stroll themselves.
Either way, it’s an issue which will need to be addressed soon, especially with the new walk due to open in the coming months.
Any suggestions or recommendations about how we should tackle any issues in relation to this are welcomed by email to info@sligowalks.ie.
For more visit SligoWalks.ie, and enjoy the walks.