The old Waterford to Dungarvan railway line, closed in the 1970s and reopened as a greenway in 2017, sets the shape of walking in this county. It runs 46 km traffic-free past three viaducts and a 400-metre tunnel, and three of the places on this list sit on it: Kilmeaden at the eastern end, where the narrow-gauge heritage trains still run and Mount Congreve’s gardens are close by, Kilmacthomas at the midpoint under its seven-arch viaduct over the River Mahon, and Dungarvan at the western end.
The coast gives the shorter walks. Dunmore East has a cliff path running west to Portally Cove from a working fishing harbour. Doneraile Walk in Tramore is twenty flat minutes along the clifftop, past the Metal Man beacon and the monument to the Sea Horse, wrecked in the bay in 1816. Ardmore Cliff Walk is a 4 km loop of about an hour round Ardmore Head and Ram Head, taking in the round tower, wartime lookouts and the rusting Samson barge.
Inland, the walking gets rougher and needs a car. The Lough Mohra Loop above Rathgormack climbs to a glacial coum under the Knockanaffrin Ridge, the Nire Valley loops rise to the Sgilloges Lakes, and Colligan Wood north of Dungarvan has two waymarked circuits. Ballysaggartmore Towers, near Lismore, is the gentlest of the inland walks.
A disused railway reopened in 2017, running 46 km traffic-free from Waterford City to Dungarvan past three viaducts and a 400-metre tunnel.
Cliff path heading west to Portally Cove from a working fishing harbour, with a Blue Flag beach at Counsellors' Strand and seafood at the end.
An easy 4 km loop of about an hour round Ardmore Head and Ram Head, taking in a round tower and the wrecked Samson barge.
A short woodland loop near Lismore leading to a castellated gateway and ornamented bridge built in the 1830s for a grand house never completed.
Twenty flat minutes along the clifftop above Tramore Bay, past the Metal Man beacon and the monument to the 1816 Sea Horse wreck.
18 of 18 shown — tap a pin for the place.
waterford
An old railway line, closed in the 1970s and reopened in 2017, runs 46 km from Waterford City to Dungarvan past three viaducts and a 400-metre tunnel. The narrow-gauge Waterford & Suir Valley Railway still runs heritage trains along the first stretch from Kilmeaden.
waterford
Dunmore East is a fishing harbour and seaside village on the west side of Waterford Harbour. The draw is the cliff walk west to Portally Cove, a Blue Flag beach at Counsellors' Strand, a 42-acre woodland and a harbour lined with seafood restaurants.
Ardmore, waterford
A 4 km loop from the Cliff House Hotel around Ardmore Head and Ram Head, taking in one of Ireland's best-preserved round towers, wartime lookouts and the rusting Samson barge, wrecked here in 1987. Easy going, about an hour, with the Atlantic alongside for much of the way.
Ballysaggart, waterford
The Ballysaggartmore Towers are a castellated gateway and an ornamented bridge built in the 1830s for a grand house that never got built. A short, easy woodland loop near Lismore leads to them through mixed forest, past the ruined gate lodges of a landlord long remembered for his Famine-era cruelty.
Tramore, waterford
A flat clifftop path along Tramore Bay, named for the landlord who gave the townspeople the land. It passes the Metal Man beacon figure and a monument to the Sea Horse, the troopship wrecked off here in January 1816 with the loss of more than 360 lives. Twenty minutes, free, and easy underfoot.
Dungarvan, waterford
A West Waterford harbour town built around a polygonal shell-keep, one of the few in Ireland. It's the western end of the 46 km Waterford Greenway and a handy base for the Copper Coast and the Comeragh Mountains, with the trails, not the town itself, the main reason to come.
tipperary
The East Munster Way is really two walks bolted together: flat riverside towpath along the Suir from Carrick-on-Suir to Clonmel, then a climb into Coillte forestry and open moorland on the edge of the Comeragh and Knockmealdown ranges before dropping to Clogheen. Most walkers take three days over its 69 km.
waterford
Kilmacthomas – 'Kilmac' to locals – sits at the midpoint of the Waterford Greenway, where a seven-arch stone viaduct from 1878 carries the traffic-free trail high over the River Mahon. The old Famine workhouse now holds a coffee shop and bike hire, and Mahon Falls is a short drive into the Comeraghs.
Kilmeaden, waterford
A working village 10 km west of Waterford, Kilmeaden is where Mount Congreve's 70-acre gardens meet the narrow-gauge Suir Valley Railway and the Waterford Greenway. The 14th-century Power castle ruins sit free and open above the river.
Glenpatrick Woods, waterford
The Lough Mohra Loop is the longer of two waymarked circuits in Glenpatrick Woods, above Rathgormack in west Waterford. It climbs from forestry track to a glacial coum – a shallow, marshy lake under the Knockanaffrin Ridge – with clear-day views to Slievenamon and the Walsh Mountains. Free to walk, free to park, and no facilities on site.
Ballymacarbry, waterford
A spate river off the Comeragh slopes, the River Nire holds wild brown trout from 20cm to 40cm and is fished mainly on dry flies and nymphs. Three way-marked loops climb from the car park to the Sgilloges Lakes and Knockanaffrin Ridge, and the river runs Grade 3 for paddlers after rain. Dogs are not allowed on the trails.
Laois, laois
The River Barrow runs 192 km from the Slieve Bloom Mountains to Waterford Harbour, past a 111 km engineered navigation of locks and weirs. Its towpath is the Barrow Way, a level 116 km walking trail linking lock keepers' cottages and river towns from Lowtown in Kildare to St Mullins in Carlow.
Cashel, tipperary
St Declan’s Way is a 116 km waymarked pilgrim path between Cashel and Ardmore, retracing the route St Declan walked to meet St Patrick. Most of it is easy going; the one hard day is the crossing of the Knockmealdown Mountains.
waterford
Nire Valley Trails, waterford
Ram Head, waterford
Rams Head, waterford
Strancally Demesne, waterford
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