The Trail Map:- OSI Map Series 16, 25
This is the small seaside village where William Butler Yeats and his brother spent their summers at Elsinore House. Nestled between the mountains of Benbulben and Knocknarea, the walking route offers views of Oyster Island and Coney Island.
The Route
You begin your 4km walk at the Church of Ireland as you come into Rosses Point. Continue along the promenade with great views of Oyster Island to your left. This island lies a short distance across the channel from the promenade and derives its name from the oyster beds which existed along its shores until the turn of the century.
Towards the end of the promenade you meet the entrance to the RNLI Station where you turn left to take the coastal path. Passing the pier, you’ll see the Metal Man out to sea. It was erected in 1821 and stands pointing seafarers on the correct course. Dressed as a seaman of that period with blue coat and white trousers, he stands 12 feet high and weighs 7 tons.
Where you meet a V in the path, bear left. This path will bring you to the furthest point of the walk, Sligo Yacht Club and an area known as Deadman’s beside the pier.
Turning up the hill for the route home, you’ll pass the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW) sign to your left. A path comes into view to your right. Take this, and it will join the coastal path once again, and from here continue to follow the coastal walk, which brings you back to the starting point.
N.B Upon reaching the Wild Atlantic Way sign, you can extend your walk by continuing along the first and second Rosses Point beaches.
Don’t Miss! The poignant ‘Waiting On Shore’ monument near the lifeboat stations which depicts a woman with arms outstretched into the distance was erected on August 10th 2002.
The Rosses Point Coastal Way is a walking route marked by a series of nine interpretive panels located along the 2 km of coastal paths of Rosses Point. The Way encourages the exploration and enjoyment of the natural, historical and cultural heritage of this area beautiful area.
See:
https://www.heritageweek.ie/projects/the-rosses-point-coastal-way-project
This Rosses Point Coastal Way project grew from the organisers’ shared appreciation of the rich heritage of Rosses Point, Co. Sligo and their desire to share that with locals and visitors alike through the development of an interpretive walking trail there.
A basic principle of the Rosses Point Coastal Way Steering Group was that the local community had to be centrally involved in the development of the project so that they would take pride in it, but also ownership of it, into the future.
Over time the project group grew from just a three member steering group, to involving many more members of the local community including the pupils of the local primary school, Realt na Mara, Rosses Point Tidy Towns, Rosses Point Shanty Festival- Heritage archive, Rosses Point Development Association, Sligo Co. Council and many other individuals who supported the project in many different ways.
Hi,
fantastic website and I will certainly make use of it on my holidays! Thanks for putting it together!
A search function by map would be great, i.e. you could see where you are based and then pick the walks which are closest. Also public transport links.
Hi Petra,
Thanks for the feedback, and glad you like the site. We’re working on adding a map to the frontpage, hope we can get it done before your next visit. Let us know what you think when its up. We’ll get those public transport links sorted aswell.