This year’s Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail Walking Festival, which will be raising funds for Mayo Roscommon Hospice, will take place on Saturday May 10th.
The festival will include a one day guided or self-guided walk along the final section of the Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail, from Aghagower to Murrisk, a distance of approximately 20 kilometres.
Bus transport will be provided from Murrisk, where ample parking is available, to our starting point at Aghagower Community Centre where a warm welcome awaits our walkers.
Following registration on the day our walk will begin at 09.30. Registration is important – we need to know who is walking with us for health and safety reasons.
The trail is at the heart of rural West Mayo, it includes many outstanding heritage and historical sites and many features of great natural beauty.
Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail Walking Festival 2025
Date Saturday 10th May 2025
Linear Trail from Aghagower – Murrisk
Overall Total Distance: 20 km
Level Difficulty: Moderate/Strenuous.
From Aghagower to Skeilp is graded as Moderate. From Skeilp to Murrisk is graded as Strenuous.
Highest point: 310m
Terrain: Woodland, Bog, Forestry, Fields, Boreens and Minor Roads, Mountain tracks with spectacular rural and coastal views.
Minimum Gear: Walking boots, rain gear, snacks, and fluid.
Map Reference: OS Discovery Sheet 31, 38 & 30.
Services are available in Aghagower and Murrisk
ITINERARY
08.00 – Assemble in Murrisk car park at the foot of Croagh Patrick
08.30 – Last bus transport to Aghagower Community Centre for tea, coffee, and registration 09.30 – Our walk will commence
11.30 onward: Refreshments will be available at Brackloon National School
15.00 onward: Arrive in Murrisk where a barbecue will be prepared in the grounds of Campbell’s pub.
Registration/payment (29.50 euro plus booking fee, to include bus transport and food) for the event is available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/
Payment on the day of the festival is possible. We advise advance registration through Eventbrite. All participants must register on the day. This is important.
A variety of accommodation is available in the villages along the trail – please see our website www.cpht.ie
turn onto an ancient and flower-strewn path between tracts of farmland. This short stretch leads to a
minor road that twists and turns through a charming rural landscape, and leads to the Boheh Stone,
one of Ireland’s finest examples of Bronze Age rock art.
before we turn into beautiful Brackloon oakwood, a fine example of temperate Atlantic rain forest.
On exiting the woodland, we once more take very minor roads and country boreens, some with high
banks that likely hold the same populations of wild flowers as they did hundreds of years ago. These
lead to the Skeilp, where are say goodbye to tarmac and introduce ourselves to what can only be
described as wilderness.
challenging stretch across open moorland. This is where Clew Bay comes into view. The scenery here
is unparallelled, with an open vista of islands set in turquoise waters to the north and undeveloped
mountain landscape to the south and west.
here, especially if the day is wet! After a steep descent we find a level footpath that will lead us to
the final downhill track to Campbell’s pub.
completed this part of the Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail before, we can only assure you there may not
be as varied a walk elsewhere in the Kingdom of Connaught!
enjoying a complimentary barbecue in the back yard of Campbells, and perhaps a pint or two of
Ireland’s finest to rehydrate.
Mayo-Roscommon Hospice, who have made a commitment to build a much-needed children’s
hospice here in Mayo.
very good cause.