Waterford · Easy · There and back

Coumshingaun Lough from Kilclooney Wood

A short, rough walk from Kilclooney Wood up a boulder-strewn valley to Coumshingaun Lough, a corrie lake ringed by high cliffs.

Distance
3.5 km (2.2 mi)
Ascent
207 m
Time
About 1 h 30 min
High point
384 m
Grade
Easy

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

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Coumshingaun Lough from Kilclooney Wood
Kevin O'Brien 13 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The walk

From the Kilclooney Wood car park on the R676, walk up through the conifers of the wood and cross the stile onto the open hill. Follow the rough path west up the valley among boulders left by the ice, keeping the stream on your left, until the cliffs open out around Coumshingaun Lough. The walk ends at the lake's outflow. Return the same way. Do not climb the ridge to the left: the horseshoe round the corrie rim needs hands on rock and is not part of this walk.

It is 3.5 km there and back with 207 m of ascent; allow about 1½ hours. The grade is Easy: short, but the path is rocky, crosses boulders and is wet after rain.

This is not a registered trail. The wood belongs to Coillte; above it the open hill is private land, and walkers are there by the landowners' goodwill. Sheep graze the hill, so keep dogs on a lead. The lake is cold and deep.

Parking at Kilclooney Wood is free, and a second free car park, Coumshingaun Lake Car Park, is about 450 m south off the R676. We found no public transport to the wood.

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

  • Coumshingaun is often called the finest corrie in Ireland: a lake held in a horseshoe of cliffs that rise some 350 m above the water.
  • The cliffs are Old Red Sandstone conglomerate, and the valley floor is strewn with boulders dropped by the melting glacier.
  • Kilclooney Wood was once part of the Curraghmore estate of the Marquess of Waterford.
  • Peregrine falcons nest on the Comeragh cliffs; feral goats are often seen.

Getting there

Start: Kilclooney Wood car park · Free parking. 52.24315, -7.50140

Directions to the start

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Places to stay nearby

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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.