Walks – Lough Key and Boyle river

Adjacent Waterways . .

Upstream . .

Downstream . .

Waterway Walks
Index of Walks – Lough Key & Boyle River

Walks by Lough Key and the Boyle River in downstream sequence:

Maps:

Ordnance Survey of Ireland, Discovery Series 1:50,000
– Map 33, Lough Key, Acres Lough, and St John’s Lough to Lough Forbes

Drum Bridge to Boyle * *		4 km; 1 hr. Start: Map 33 G816040 On roads. Historic.
Start at Drum Bridge and follow the road to Boyle. The route is clearly marked on the map. Interesting sites include Boyle Abbey and King House. Thanks to Alan Mullally for reminding me about this walk.

Fairy Bridge

Forest Park *** * * ***		Up to 7 km; 1.75 hrs Start: Map 33 G845042 or G842044 depending on wind direction On paths. Forest park. Many interesting features.
Lough Key Forest Park is a long time favorite of many visitors to the Shannon. A little study of the map will suggest a number of walks. Consider including the Fairy Bridge, the Bog Garden, Drummans Bridge, and Drummans Island. Most of these are not shown on the map but are all close to the suggested starting points. Add more paths depending on how far one wishes to walk. Longer and shorter walks than the 7 km indicated above are easy to devise. Those who want a longer walk (about 11 km) might like to explore the walks at Oakport Demesne in the vicinity of G870040. Take the road south-south-east from the car park and walk about 1 km before turning left at G853032. Head east and then north along paths and roads to Turlagh. At G868038 take the track into the demesne and follow the circular route through the forest returning to Turlagh. Head north along the R285 turning left in less than 1 km and then right onto the track that passes north-east of the Poteen Hill. Join the Historical Trail and walk back to the starting point.

Knockvicar Bridge

Historical Trail * *		Up to 10 km; 2.5 hrs Start: Map 33 G816040 or G845042 or G873055 On paths and roads. Forest and lake shore.
Great walk for surplus crew. Start at Drum Bridge, Lough Key Forest Park, or Knockvicar Quay or Lock. The route is clearly marked on the map.