Donegal · Easy · There and back

Glenveagh: Lough Veagh to the castle and the View Point

Along the shore of Lough Veagh to Glenveagh Castle, once round the steep View Point trail behind it, and back by the lake.

Distance
8.8 km (5.5 mi)
Ascent
130 m
Time
About 2 h 30 min
High point
134 m
Grade
Easy

Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), checked by Global Adventurer.

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Glenveagh: Lough Veagh to the castle and the View Point
Patrice78500 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

The walk

From the visitor centre car park, take the gravel Lakeside Walk south-west along Lough Veagh, beside the shuttle-bus road, for about 3.5 km to Glenveagh Castle. Just outside the garden gates behind the castle, the View Point trail climbs steeply past a viewing spot just off the path, looking down on the castle and the lake, then drops north-east to the shore: you go round it once, anticlockwise. Return the same way.

It is 8.8 km there and back with 130 m of ascent; allow about 2½ hours. The grade is Easy: a level gravel path, with one short, steep climb behind the castle.

This is Glenveagh National Park, open to walkers all year and free to enter. Dogs must be on a lead, and are not allowed in the Walled Garden or on the shuttle bus, except assistance dogs. Give the red deer room, above all in the autumn rut, September to November. The View Point trail is slippery when wet.

The car park is free. TFI Local Link route 971 from Letterkenny stops at the visitor centre up to four times a day. A paid shuttle bus runs to the castle daily from 9:30, with the last one back at 5:15pm, if you want to ride one way; it does not run on Good Friday or in Christmas week.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.

Good to know

  • Glenveagh Castle was built between 1867 and 1873 for John George Adair, the landlord who evicted the Derryveagh tenants in 1861.
  • The last private owner, Henry McIlhenny, handed the castle and gardens to the state; the park now covers the Derryveagh Mountains around Lough Veagh.
  • A large herd of red deer roams the park, and golden eagles were released here from 2000 to bring them back to Ireland.
  • The View Point Trail is short but steep, and gives the classic view down on the castle and the long glacial trough of Lough Veagh.

Getting there

Start: Glenveagh National Park visitor centre car park · Free parking. 55.05741, -7.93791

Directions to the start

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Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line and figures come from OpenStreetMap and our own checks; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.