Carrowkeel

carrowkeel

Walk Category: Upland Walk
Walk Grade: Moderate
Walking Terrain: Mountain Trail
Waymarking: Yellow Arrows
Trailhead: Roadside Parking
Dogs: Allowed on lead

Length: 5.5km
Ascent: 120m
Time: 1.5hrs
Suggested Gear: Walking Boots, fluids and snacks
Longitude: 54.058776
Latitude: -8.394112


Directions to the Trailhead

Take the N4 from Sligo towards Dublin for 26.5km. At the end of the dual carriageway, take the last exit from the roundabout for Castlebaldwin. When you enter the village, turn left at McDermott’s Pub. After 300 metres the road forks, take the left turn here. Continue for approx. 4km before taking a road to the left. Follow this until you reach a gate that crosses the road, where a small amount of roadside parking is available. You can pass through this gate (remembering to close it behind you) and further roadside parking is available further on as the road ends.

The Trail Map:- OSI Map Series 25

Megalithic Carrowkeel
Carrowkeel is a megalithic hill top passage tomb cemetery. There are 14 cairns located at different positions on the hilltops with a further group of 6 cairns extending west towards Keshcorran Mountain, which is also capped with a large cairn. The main group of cairns was examined in 1911 when 14 cairns were excavated were given letters to differentiate them with Cairns G and K been the most significant of all.
The tombs were opened by R.A.S. Macalister, accompanied by Robert Lloyd Praeger and Edmund Clarence Richard Armstrong. Although Macalister was acquainted with contemporary archaeological methods, he acted hastily at Carrowkeel and his removal and disturbance of the chamber floors have hampered investigators who followed him. In ‘The Way That I Went’, 1937, Praeger gives an eerie account of the first entry into one of the Carrowkeel monuments.

Nowadays, the passage tombs are protected by law and walkers are asked never to interfere with them.

The Route
The walk up to Carrowkeel can be done as a linear walk or as part of the Miners Way and Historical Trail. To assess the tombs as part of the Miners Way and Historical Trail you can start from Ballinafad and walk up across the Bricklieve Mountains over to the tombs before heading down past the donkey sanctuary to Castlebaldwin. The Miners Way and Historical Trail is waymarked using black marker posts with yellow arrows.

Did you know?
The mountain range containing Carrowkeel is called the Bricklieve Mountains, meaning the speckled mountains in Irish.

Nearby walks you might like

The Miner’s Way

A long distance waymarked trail

Kesh Hill Trail

Hillside track leading to caves

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6 responses to “Carrowkeel”

  1. Brídín

    Wonderful secret walk. I just came across 3/4 cairns with different alignment 40 degrees north east, northwest and north. Wonderful views . I wonder how far towards Loughcrew you can see?

  2. JAY

    The time for this walk says 30minutes? To walk 5km up a mountain? That couldn’t surely be right is it? Or am I just really unfit?

    1. Paul Reidy

      Well spotted Jay, the 30mins was for one way, should have add same for the return trip. Thanks!

  3. Allan

    I had heard about these Cairns from a friend and put it on the Todo list. I had little expectations which I now see as a good thing. After the walk up I ventured in side the first cairn and was blown away by how pristine the inside was and thinking they built this up to 4,000 years ago followed this with a venture into the larger cairn and this was even more impressive. Just the thought of how these were constructed in that time on the side/top of these beautiful mountains and here I am enjoying the fruits of their labour all this time later. How did they bring the boulders up the mountain,put them in place so they could withstand all mother nature can throw it them and based on the first escavation had remained closed to all humans for all that time. Truly a day I will never forget…just to appreciate the Mammoth endeavor that was involved….and being able to see this in all it’s glory on a rainy day in Jan 2022

  4. James

    Nice walk, spectacular tombs including two that you can crawl into, so bring a headlamp. My 8 and 10 year olds loved it.

  5. Colin Riach

    Did the walk today with the kids , fantastic views from the top , road part definitely easy , climb from the road to the passage tombs was a bit steeper. Tombs themselves were fascinating.
    Well worth the effort.

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