Located near the foot of Muckish, these very pleasant looped track walks provide lovely views of the mountain itself, along with the lovely experience of walking on the old trackbed of the narrow gauge railway that once ran from Letterkenny to Burtonport on the west coast.
The route is quite close to the starting point for the well known Miner’s Path ascent of Muckish. Follow the N56 north of Creeslough village to take a left turn just before a graveyard (RHS of the road). Follow the minor road straight ahead, passing Muckish Sand and Gravel quarry and then through a gateway. Continue for about 600m to find the trailhead with a limited parking area and signage for the trails (See below).
There are two main loops, Loch Achair Loop and The Railway Loop. These can be combined to create a good morning or afternoon route. There is a third route over by Loch na bPoll that is shorter, but the path is degraded and will definitely need boots and poles as it is quite boggy.
A 2km section from the car park westward to the end of L. Achair has now been finished with tarmac and is suitable for wheelchair users.
Note: This is also the starting point to walk the old Burtonport line as far as Meenderry south of Falcarragh. (Shown on Map) See Moderate Walks.
- Trailhead: Carrownamaddy, foot of Muckish (Directions above)
- Facilities: None. Middle of nowhere!!
- Terain: Mountain track – Can be flooded in damp weather.
- Lengths: Loch Achair Loop 4.5km and The Railway Loop 2km.
- Time: 1.5 hours for both loops.
- Ascent: Short easy climbs.
