Free Sligo town walks for the summer
Beginning next Saturday, June 2nd, and continuing throughout the Summer, daily guided walks around Sligo will be provided to visitors and locals alike.
This initiative, now in its 10 th year, is back again this Summer, enabling visitors in particular to find out all they need to know about Sligo and its history.
The walks, which start at the Fáilte Ireland office at the top of O’Connell St. in Sligo (across from the main Post office), begin at 11am each day (except Sundays) and last for approximately two hours.
And in a new extension to this service, there will be two daily walks for the month of August – an afternoon walk will start out at 2:30pm from the same location – and this series of walks will run throughout the tourist season until the end of September.
The walks are led by some local guides – John Ryan, David Lawless and Auriel Robinson, and others – and are provided by the Sligo Tourist Development Association.
Together with Marketing Sligo Forum, this group of dedicated guides have developed these walks over the years both to inform and entertain those who take part.
Walkers will visit all of the key historic locations around Sligo Town – stopping at points of interest along the way where the guide gives a description of the location and its significance for Sligo.
“They’re a mix of history, heritage and culture,” is how guide David Lawless describes his tour.
“Tales of notable people associated with Sligo, places and buildings of the area.
“It’s not a strictly scripted tour, each one is different, although the route follows a general route - we’re never more than a five minute walk from O’Connell Street.”
As well as tourists, David reckons there’s plenty for local people to get their teeth into – if you’ ll forgive the pun.
From vampires to South American independence, Sligo has a storied past and this is a great way to find out a little more about the places we may walk past every day but know little about.
Síle Garrett Haran has been working in the background to develop these walks on behalf of Sligo Tourism.
Pointing to the positive feedback the guides have received in particular from first-time visitors to the town, she also notes a rise in younger people getting involved in their local history.
“The guided walks begin as the school year is drawing to a close.
“We’ve noticed a significant number of primary school children signing up with their teachers. It’s educational but also fun.
“For larger groups we do require advance booking so it’s always best to contact us beforehand. But for the most, people can just join in on the day, no booking necessary.”
In recent years, tours have included people from the UK, USA, Germany, Netherlands, Canada, even as far afield as New Zealand, as well as from all over Ireland.
And with tourists already in evidence in Sligo during the sunny spell, we look forward to extending a big welcome to increasing numbers of people this Summer.
The walk guides are ambassadors for Sligo, and their work can go a long way in improving the visitor experience in. David, for one, reckons that Sligo has so much to offer, all the tourist wants is a steer in the right direction and they’ ll hopefully extend their stay and maybe return again next year.
“Sometimes I chat about music and how Sligo is such a great spot for music - I might play a tune on the whistle if the people in the group would like to hear one, then urge them to get to a session while they’re in Sligo to hear the fantastic local musicians play.
“I really like Sligo, so it’s an absolute pleasure to show people around the place.”
A walk, followed by a drink and a tune, it doesn’t get much better than that.
For information of the free guided walks of Sligo, pick up a flier at different locations around Sligo, including at the Fáilte Ireland office.
For more information on walking in Sligo, including on over 50 different way marked routes around the county, visit SligoWalks.ie.