PERHAPS YOU have recently spent too much time in the fast-food lane, but these days your priority is pulse-raising self-improvement. You would like some familiarity with the Irish uplands, but rambling is your game and you’re happy to leave the knee-knocking intensity of steep landscapes to dedicated mountain lovers.
Don’t worry, for there is now a loop walk at the beating heart of rural Ireland that makes your ideal start point. Simply aching for footfall, the newly-developed Crag Loop in Co Tipperary provides an ideal introduction to green exercising and is calculated to entice even the most committed couch potato into the Irish countryside.
Certainly, when my invitation to Slieveardagh Hill country appeared from Con Ryan, rural recreation officer with the South Tipperary Development Company, I needed no second bidding. On my arrival, into an overflowing Grange village hall, I discovered that Ryan hadn’t just one but a bevy of natural beauties to promote.
As rain thundered down outside he told us about the Tipperary 10 – a group of compelling trails in the premier county which link serene villages, meander by stately homes and abbeys, and ramble beside tranquil river banks.
Then the rain stopped on cue and soon after Ryan and members of the Slieveardagh Development Group lead us towards Grangecrag Wood. Awash with anticipation, we followed forest trails to reach an incongruous looking building, which is a curious relic from the Ascendancy period of our history.
Declan Rice, a local community activist, told us that this building once served as a deep freeze. Blocks were cut from frozen ponds and transported to what was then an ice house, where they were stacked in straw to create a microclimate. Ice, so preserved, could keep throughout the summer, and this particular ice house was used as a cold store for the Kilcooley Estate from the 18th to the mid 20th century.
Continuing from the ice house we reach a three-way junction and go right on a forest roadway to another junction where it’s a sharp left and upwards to an intersection, with arrows pointing right.
Shortly after, a track takes us up again to reach an odd edifice known as the Wellington Monument. Here, we are introduced to architect James Howley, author of The Follies and Garden Buildings of Ireland.
He says that the monument was built in 1817 by William Barker of the Kilcooley Estate to commemorate the victory of the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and had been designed to present its best profile towards the great house.
Such buildings are generally referred to as follies but, according to Howley, they usually served a purpose. Here, he said, the idea was to provide a focus, drawing people to the highest point of the estate where they would then be impressed by fine views of Kilcooley and the sylvan glories of the parklands below.
Unfortunately, these views are hidden today by a stand of timber, but the local community has plans to overcome this obstacle by creating an extensive viewing point at the top of the monument under a newly inaugurated “adopt a monument” scheme.
We followed the arrows to a junction with another road and veer right to re-enter forestry. After about 500m, the route swings left and crosses open ground where a show-stopping vista unfolds. We pause and savour the previously obscured views to the great house at Kilcooley, with the Devil’s Bit Mountain providing a compelling backdrop to the pastoral panorama.
Members of the local community informed us that Kilcooley occupies a narrow strip of fertile land beneath the Slieveardagh Hills, and was home to the Ponsonby/Barker family from the 1770s.
They also pointed out the extensive ruins of the 12th century Kilcooley Abbey – a Cistercian house lying within the estate walls. From our viewing point, it is easy to see how penitents and planters would have been attracted to this green and pleasant corner of Co Tipperary.
Soon after, we entered mature broadleaf woodland and swung right to descend by a stream to reach a track. Continuing left, we followed the arrows along the woodland track to join a roadway. Turning right, we were soon back at the Grange trailhead. Here our reward is an excellent repast in the village hall.
The Crag Loop surely makes the ideal antidote for anyone suffering “nature deficit disorder”.
Route: Crag Loop, Co Tipperary
Start pointTake the R690 from Urlingford, signposted Mullinahone. Continue for 7km to pass the entrance to Kilcooley Estate. Beyond Kilcooley take the first left and after 2km you enter Grange village. The trailhead is at Hogan's pub.
TimeAbout two hours.
SuitabilityA pleasant and unchallenging walk along dry woodland trails that is readily accomplished wearing trainers.
MapOSI Discovery Series, sheet 67, but you won't need it.
BookletThe Tipperary 10 booklet is available from South Tipperary Development Co, Cahir, tel: 052-6134455 or see southtippcoco.ie.