Overview
The Táin Way is a 40.3 km waymarked loop of the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth, and it’s worth setting expectations before you lace up: this is as much quiet tarred lane and forest track as it is mountain ridge. That’s not a criticism, but if you’re picturing an unbroken high traverse, it isn’t that. It’s a National Waymarked Trail, managed by Louth County Council, Coillte and the local walks partnership, free to walk and marked throughout with the standard yellow-and-white arrows. Most people split it over two days; fit walkers take it in one long push, and it also breaks neatly into day sections.
If you only want a taste, do the Ravensdale to Omeath stretch (see below) rather than the full circuit. It packs in the best of the woodland and the coastal drop-offs in a manageable half-day.
The legend behind the name
The trail is named for the Táin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley), one of the foundational epics of early Irish literature. In the saga, Queen Maeve of Connacht marches on the peninsula to seize the Brown Bull of Cooley and runs into the young warrior Cú Chulainn, who holds her army off single-handed. The route follows a short stretch of that march, which is retraced each June by the Táin March Festival on its full historical line from Ardee to Carlingford. Fáilte Ireland is now working on a wider reimagining of the Táin route for walking, cycling and driving across Louth, Meath, Westmeath, Longford and Roscommon.
The route
The start and finish is Carlingford, a medieval walled town on Carlingford Lough. From there the trail climbs the flank of Slieve Foy, the county’s highest peak, then dips into Clermont Pass below Clermont Carn, which carries a Bronze Age cairn on its top. It reaches the quiet village of Ravensdale at a natural halfway point, then runs the high ground between Carnawaddy and Castle Mountain, with the Cooley Mountains laid out around you and the Mournes across the lough on a clear day. The last leg comes down the southern side of Slieve Foy through forest tracks and coastal paths back into Carlingford. Total ascent over the loop is about 1,025 m.
Sections and options
- Full loop (40.3 km) – usually two days, with a night in Carlingford or Ravensdale.
- Ravensdale to Omeath (13 km) – the best single section, a 4–5 hour walk through ancient woodland past the Bronze Age cairn on Clermont Carn and along the historic Cadger’s Pad, with dramatic coastal drop-offs.
- Carlingford to Ravensdale (~15 km) – a solid day walk, good for families or for testing the legs before the full circuit.
- Alternative trailheads – you can also start at Clermont Bridge in Omeath or at the Lumpers Pub in Ravensdale; both feed cleanly into the loop and finish in Carlingford.
For navigation, carry OSI Discovery Series Sheet 36, or EastWest Mapping’s dedicated Táin Way map guide (1:25,000). The ActiveME and HiiKER apps have downloadable GPX tracks.
Wildlife and archaeology
Irish hares are a common sight on the heathland around Slieve Foy, and the open upland is nesting ground for the hen harrier, a protected bird of prey. Summer brings purple heather and yellow gorse to the higher slopes. The whole peninsula is layered with prehistoric archaeology, and interpretive panels along the way point out Bronze-Age cairns, passage graves and portal tombs, many sitting among old field boundaries that speak to a very long farming history.
Access, transport and practical info
- By car – Carlingford is about an hour from Dublin. There’s free street parking in the town; the Lumpers Pub car park in Ravensdale charges €3, with a small fee for showers.
- Public transport – Bus Éireann runs several daily services from Dublin and Dundalk to Carlingford. The nearest rail station is Dundalk, with onward buses to the peninsula.
- Dogs – not permitted on the trail, because of livestock grazing along much of the route.
- Navigation and safety – mobile signal drops on the higher ridges, so carry a paper map and a charged phone. Weather turns quickly on Slieve Foy; waterproofs, a warm layer and proper boots are worth having year-round.
- Leave No Trace – take your litter home, keep to the paths, close gates and give livestock room.
Where to stay and eat
Carlingford has plenty of beds, from family B&Bs to hotels like McKevitt’s and the Red Lion. The Lumpers Pub in Ravensdale is a practical base for the Ravensdale to Omeath section, with a secure car park, basic showers and a bar. For food, the town does well on local oysters and the usual run of pub dinners; most places open from around 10am. If your visit lands on the Carlingford Oyster Festival in August, book a bed well ahead, because the town fills up. Whatever the forecast says, take waterproofs.