Carran loop

Walking
County Clare
3.5/5
14 reviews
Grade Strenuous
Length 9.35351 km
Time 4 hours
Format Loop
Ascent 100 m
Dogs Allowed No
Waymarking Purple arrow
Start Point
Cassidys Pub, Carron village
Finish Point
Cassidys Pub, Carron village
Nearest Town to Start Carron
Lat. and Long. 53.03564, -9.07609

This loop follows minor roads, animal tracks and grassy lanes, taking in the Clab Valley, St Fachtnan's Holy Well and part of Termon Hill as it traverses fields of stone slab and passes a €˜turlough' (an area which floods in winter but disappears in summer).

Maps and other information

Take care as the limestone pavement may be slippery during or after wet weather

OSI Maps

OSI Maps

Discovery Series Sheet 51
14 trail reviews
3.5/5
Write your own review of this trail
2/5
03/06/2024

Mrs.B.Forristal from Kilkenny

5 of us did this last weekend. Tough yes, challenging very, and badly signposted. Signposts too small and often too far apart to find. We had to spread out to try to locate them .Potholes and mossy.. most of us fell into one /two. Stiles very narrow and steep.. didn't enjoy it.. yes it was dry and clear thankfully or we might be still there. Beautiful scenery of course . We had walked Mullagh Mor the day before and did not have any issues.. be careful as you go..
4/5
07/29/2022

Phil from United Kingdom

This is a beautiful trail - we did it in July, with fantastic wildflowers everywhere. The waymarking seems to be better than some earlier reviews indicate, it seems like there are a lot of new markers. Having said that, we did get slightly off route for a while, and when climbing up Termon we met a couple who had got lost and had given up. We were able to figure out the problem. On reaching the top of the track up onto Termon, you walk along with a stone wall on your left - this is clearly indicated by a way marker. You need to follow along this wall for longer than you might think, and the path gets very indistinct in places, especially where there's hazel scrub - which also tends to obscure the stiles through the cross-walls. It's possible that the trail hasn't been walked as much in the last couple of years, for obvious reasons and hasgot a bit overgrown. It would probably be useful if there were a couple more way markers on this stretch. After that, though, the trail is marked well. The rating of strenuous is probably a bit of an overstatement, the climb up Termon isn't very hard, but you do need to pay attention to where you're stepping as this part of the Burren has a lot of vegetation (all those wildflowers) that tends to obscure the uneven ground below in places. It's worth making the short detour to the ruined church, as that's a magical spot in its own right.
2/5
12/02/2021

Mary from Dublin

A beautiful hike but difficult to navigate as markings impossible to find. Very easy to get lost and that took the enjoyment out of what should have been a great day out. Will not be returning.
1/5
08/08/2021

John from Dublin

Got a bit further this time (August 2021) before losing the trail. The waymarkers are completely inadequate - either you have a well marked trail, or an accurate map. Here we have neither. Good views today but trail marking is very disappointing. It's not a physically challenging walk although it's very uneven underfoot in parts: the challenge is in finding the trail markers. Bring binoculars to see the next one, and a search party to fan out to try to find them.

NOTE FROM SPORT IRELAND OUTDOORS: The downloadable map on this website has been changed
09/16/2018

Elaine from Clare

We attempted this walk on a beautiful sunny morning but unfortunately our walk was halted 2km in by 2 very large dogs in the roadway who were quite aggressive. We had to turn back as it was clear these dogs were not going to let us pass. Very disappointed. We are both dog lovers (& owners) and would imagine that owners would be vigilant on a designated walking trail.
4/5
03/21/2018

Tom from United Kingdom

Good walk - lack of signs really from the top downwards. One particularly confusing part just as you come off the summit. As others have also commented that the final section can be a little confusing. Shame the pub wasn't open at the end of it!
3/5
08/21/2017

John from Dublin

A good hike but very poorly marked from the halfway point.

The map at http://www.burren.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Carron-Loop-Walk.pdf has the NUIG research station in the wrong place.

The route description in the "Burren Explorer" only goes as far as point E which is where it becomes challenging and where we lost the markers.

Incidentally, the map on the display board opposite Cassidys' pub has the "You are here" point in the wrong place too: you are about 600 metres south of where the map says you are.
07/25/2017

Jim from Limerick

Yes, I agree with other walkers' comments. More waymarks are needed especially in the event of mist. Other than that it is a wonderful walk - but more waymarks.
4/5
07/12/2017

Grainne from Cork

Lovely hike, stunning views of the Burren, one of my favourite loops yet walked. The markers are a little scattered and this is the only drawback, could do with a little more consistent signposting, but definitely will be doing this walk again!
06/23/2017

Gail from Kildare

This trail is very over grown with hazel and very poorly marked once you reach the summit. We didn't find any markers to the section overlooking the Clab Valley & completely missed the section leading down to the UCG research station. Very disappointing

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