Looped Walks

Erris is a beautiful, authentic, heritage, cultural & adventure destination and it has been voted by ‘The Irish Times’ as the best place in Ireland to go wild! The area is unspoilt, untouched and unique. Escape to Erris and go wild! Erris is a Gaeltacht area and the Irish language is still practiced here. Here are the details for Lúb Ceann Iorrais (Erris Head Loop):

A-B. Starting from the car park at Erris Head cross a stile into a field and follow the fence on the right. After passing through two fields you cross a stile onto open terrain and reach an old earth bank which once marked the boundary between parishes, but now provides sound walking terrain for almost half of the loop.

B-C. Follow the earthbank for 300m to reach a wooden footbridge over a small stream. This marks the point to which you will return from the left on the final section of the loop. Continue straight ahead here.

C-D. Follow the earthbank to its conclusion near the northernmost tip of the head and then follow sheep tracks for a short distance to reach a railed viewing point close to the cliff edge. Take special care to stay behind the railings from where there are spectacular views of Illandavuck Island, Pigeon Rock and some sea arches. D-E. The loop turns sharp left now and climbs gently to reach a dated and dilapidated building which in previous times served as a Coast Watch Station. From here, the loop descends to view a stone construction of the word EIRE (Gaelic for Ireland), and skirts the northern edge of Ooghwee inlet before reaching a concrete pillar which served as an information gathering structure for the Meteorological Service.

E-A. From the pillar the loop descends gently again, and crosses a stream where it turns left. After 300m the loop rejoins the earthbank which was used on the outward journey at the small wooden footbridge (Point C). Turn right here and follow the earthbank back to reach enter the fields which mark the final part of the loop back to the trailhead.