This May Bank Holiday will see Connemara Mountain Walking Festival, formerly Leenane Mountain Walking Festival, celebrate it’s 10th anniversary. Each year the organisers offer stunning walks to suit all abilities and like the name states, they bring people to the summit of the local mountains. Leenane is situated in a unique region of Ireland, where the mountains roll down to the see and where they have an abundance of mountain ranges to choice from.
Each day there is a choice of at least 3 walks from Strenuous to low level and this year, to celebrate their anniversary, they plan to add an extra night or dawn walk as part of the schedule. The 2018 programme includes Mweelrea, Connacht's highest mountain, Benbaun, Galway's highest mountain, Maumtrasna and the Sheefry range. Each walk is guided by qualified, experienced guides and covered by public insurance. Another unique element of the festival is that the local farmers get involved with guiding the walks and share their vast knowledge, folklore and history of the land.
The organisers plan to celebrate the 10 year anniversary, with entertainment through out the weekend and of course finishing with their much loved Ceili in the hotel, a great way to catch up with those you met over the weekend and discuss your walks.
With the farmers involvement in the event, they kindly grant the participants permission to cross their lands and visit areas that are not normally open to the public. Transport to and from starting and finishing points will be provided as well as tea/coffee & scones at various local businesses at the end of each day. The festival is run by volunteer committee and any surplus profits from the event are re circulated back into this rural village.
For more details check out www.leenanevillage.com. And make sure to book online to guarantee that you get the walk you want.