Connemara & Mayo: A Walking Guide

Having never hiked in this region of Ireland, I bought this book to familiarize us with hikes that could be done in a day. I thought it would be much easier here since the elevation is not high. Believe me, the weather (wind, hail, rain and cold) make for some difficult hiking. Phelan prepares you for the reality. I only wish he had been available to lead us in person! Can't wait to return and see the beauty of Ireland.

Slow mailing service.

Clear directions, good details re surrounding areas.Seems very thorough.

I'd hoped that at least 1/3 of the walks in this book would be 'easier'. Sadly, this is not the case and should be made clear in product description. Try returning the book. Sell says a free label is coming but no sign of it. Postage back to England is roughly the price of the book....and still the seller remains silent. Very poor customer service.

There's not a lot of other choices so this is maybe an adequate introduction to the area. It has a lot of problems though.There are too many routes where the beginning and end are miles apart, or involve a hazardous road walk. The sketch maps are poor. It's patchy in coverage - half a dozen walks in the Twelve Bens, one in the Partry hills, none in the Nephins. Odd choices are made - a plateau walk "The Three Lugas" instead of a circuit of Maumtrasna and the Devil's Mother - this is mentioned as an alternative with an estimated time of 10 hours, where half that is nearer the mark.His gaelic translations look like they've been borrowed from another source. They are inconsistently offered and there are odd mistakes - Doire is correctly translated as wood in one place and wrongly as hill in another, and Eilte is offered as stag instead of hind.It'll do to get you started.

There are some excellent walks covered in this guide and it is organized in a very useful way (walks are clustered around sub-regions of Connemara and Mayo). However, it is some what let down by occasionally unclear instructions in regards to finding your way, especially on the more challenging mountain ascents.

Must have guide for walking in west of Ireland. I only used it in connemara, but was an invaluable resource in combination with a map. Found tge Errisbeg ealk a little hard to follow, but the others I tried were great.

Useful book for where we will be walking

Helpful tool!