Bay Lough is a corrie lake – a tarn scooped into the side of Knockaunabulloga by Ice Age glaciers – above the village of Clogheen in South Tipperary. On a fine day you’ll share it with hundreds of others: the walk in is short, free and one of the most rewarding short outings in the Knockmealdowns. On still mornings the water lies flat as glass under the crags, and in clear weather the Vee road above opens onto the Golden Vale and the Galtee Mountains beyond.
If you can pick your week, come in the last fortnight of May or the first of June, when the rhododendron on the surrounding slopes blooms pink and purple against the dark water. It is invasive and slowly choking the native ground, but for those two weeks it is the reason photographers drive out here.
The walk and the witch
The name is a cartographer’s mistake. It likely comes from bealach (pronounced ‘ba-lock’), Irish for ‘pass’ or ‘way’ – the mountain pass that the lake sits beside, not the water itself. English mapmakers misread which feature the word described, and the wrong name stuck, as it did all over Ireland. The pass follows St Declan’s Way (Rian Bó Phadraig), the early pilgrimage route between Ardmore and Cashel, and you can still walk sections of it from here.
The folklore is darker than the postcard. The lake is tied to ‘Petticoat Loose’, a witch said to have menaced travellers on the mountain road and to have been condemned to empty Bay Lough with a thimble full of holes – a task without end. It was long held to be bottomless and impossible to swim across, despite its modest size. Locals still don’t swim it, and between the cold and the depth that drops off sharply a few feet from shore, that’s sound advice rather than superstition.
Walking the trail
The walk starts at a car park on the Waterford side of the pass, off the R668 near the first hairpin bend beyond Clogheen. From there it’s about 800 metres down to the lake – allow 15 to 20 minutes – and the catch is obvious: it’s all downhill on the way in and all uphill on the way back. The track has been resurfaced, so it takes strollers and even mobility scooters as far as the water, but the climb out rules it out as a genuinely wheelchair-friendly route. AllTrails rates the full out-and-back (2.7km, about an hour, 134m of climb) as moderately challenging, which is fair for the return leg.
You can only walk about halfway round the shore; the far point is as far as the path goes, and it’s the best spot for the classic reflection shot back across the corrie. To make more of the day, the 56km Tipperary Heritage Way starts from the same car park, and the old Soldiers Path – once the main road between Cappoquin, Lismore and Clogheen – continues past the lake toward Mount Anglesby for a longer climb. The Vee viewpoint is a half-mile up the road.
On select dates from May to August, Knockmealdown Active runs kayak hire on the lake as Bay Lough Kayaking – the only way to get out onto the water, and worth checking their dates if you’re visiting in summer.
Dogs are welcome but should be kept on a lead for ground-nesting birds and grazing livestock.
Wildlife
Outside the rhododendron season, the woodland holds native spring flowers – bluebells and wood anemones – and the corrie’s updrafts bring meadow pipits, skylarks and the odd buzzard. The lake has brown trout, but fishing isn’t allowed.
Practical information
Bay Lough is free, with no admission charge or booking. The car park is signposted from Clogheen, and the Loc8 code YZS-26-53G drops you at the right spot; note you can only drive as far as the parking area. It’s small and fills quickly on dry weekends, so come early.
There are no toilets, cafés or visitor centre on site, and mobile signal is patchy in the valley – download an offline map before you set off, and bring water and a rain jacket, because the weather here turns fast.
Nearby
The Vee viewpoint, Grubb’s Monument (the pyramid tomb of a local Quaker miller) and the Liam Lynch Memorial above Goatenbridge are all within half a mile or so. For something different, Cahir Castle on the River Suir is about 20 minutes away, and the Devil’s Bit Mountain has its own walks further north.
If you want the rhododendron at full colour, aim for the last week of May. If you want the lake to yourself, come on a weekday – Saturdays and Sundays bring the crowds up from Clogheen.