Completed the trail over four days where I stead in Cahir for two nights and camped two further nights.

Day 1:
Cashel to Cahir – 23km approx. – Gentle back roads, minor ascents.
First day of St Declan's Way completed. Cashel to Cahir 23km in 4'45". I stead in Cahir last night and got 8am Locallink bus to Cashel. Lovely weather and some decent views of Knockmealdown and Galty mountains . The little bit of " off road" around the 11km mark was a welcome relief from the Tarmac. Note the official gpx (2022) from the website is not up to date, so important to follow signage to pick up new offroad section. Overall, a very underwhelming day and turned out to be the least interesting day of the whole walk. Rate Day 1: 2.5/5

Day 2:
Cahir to Goatenbridge – 18km approx. – Flat roads, tracks & trails.
Goatenbridge to Mount Melleray – 18km approx. – Mountain tracks, forest trails.
A good day despite having steady drizzle most of the day.. The first four km out of Cahir was a far cry from Cashel day before. Lady's Abbey was a gem and had lunch there to enjoy the peace and quiet. Starting into Knockmealdown section after having 21km done was a challenge. After the Liam Lynch memorial (a sight to behold) the route was fabulous. Alas no great views due to mist and rain. Rate Day 2: 4.5/5

Day 3:
Mount Melleray to Lismore – 20km approx. – Downhill forest trails & backroads.
Lismore to Aglish – 21km approx. – Undulating roads, minor ascents.
30km in approx 7.5 hours. Was intending on staying in Cappoquin but got there early. Had a good break with dinner then pushed on for another couple of hours. Met a random kind farmer that allowed me to camp in a secluded haggard close to his house. Got tea and biscuits too. Fabolous views today looking back on the Knockmealdowns. Some decent off-road sections, if a little overgrown (lots of nettles). Rate Day 3: 4/5

Day 4:
Aglish to Ardmore – 21km approx. – Rolling back roads, finishing along the beach.
Day 4 and whole route done and dusted. Approx 26km in 6.5 hours for quite a varied and pleasant stage.
Glad I did it and enjoyed it overall. While there is lots of road where most are very quiet. High ditches were bigger issue where views were restricted.
Was a bit lucky with the two wild camps worked out so well. Camping makes the stages very flexible but then one must carry a 15kg plus bag. Rate Day 4: 4/5

Logistics for St Declan's Way. (from Waterford city)
Bus Eireann Route 55 (Waterford-Limerick) disembarked in Cahir. Stead overnight in Cahir.
8am Locallink to Cashel (mon to sat only) and walked back to Cahir for second night.
At finish Ardmore, Locallink to either Youghal or Dungravan daily where I picked up Bus Eireann Route 40 (Cork-Waterford) bus back to Waterford.

My friend and I walked part of this St. Declan's Way in June 2025. We started in Lismore and walked to Ardmore over two days.

The trail is lovely and I would certainly recommend it. Some of it was right beside the Blackwater River, some was on local roads and some was on boreens. It was lovely and peaceful throughout. It is well marked throughout, but it would be great it these included milage details.

We started in Lismore and walked to Ballinmeela on day-one. We then cut across and walked 5km to stay in the Eco-pods in Villerstown. It was a bit out of the way, but it was worth it. The pods were lovely, the pub beside it, An Crusicin Lan, was great too - with good food. And Villerstown is lovely itself. All told we walked about 30km over five hours on day -one.

On day-two we walked back to Ballinameela and proceeeded on towards Ardmore. This was a much harder treck that I'd envisaged. It took us about eight hours over 40km and was up and down a fair few hills. That said, it was lovely scenery, but I was glad to arrive into Ardmore.

Strangely we didn't meet anyone else walking this route in mid-Summer. This is a lovely trail and needs to be publicised more.

Would it be possible to put Google waypoints of the actual trail that can be followed easily? The map very basic and high level. Google waypoints for the sections for example in 5 or 10k chunks would make all the difference and help identify if going off track or if a signpost has been turned around a lot earlier. The community have done a good job setting this up but without easy to follow mapping it remains a hidden gem.

Just finished most of St Declan's way (had to get a few lifts due to the hot weather). A very enjoyable experience and I'd definitely recommend it. Any people I met were really friendly and helpful to a solo walker. Hope it develops further with more accommodation along the route in the years to come.

Great to be on a trail as it is developing we have done Cashel to Mount Mellory so far over 3 days. Certainly in some places some Km markers would. Be appreciated as the leg from accommodation near Goatenbridge to Mellory took us 6 hours Wasnt sure did we have Time to rest as the path kept on giving !! Some local link. Buses from Cashel to
stops enroute would of course be fabulous so walkers can plan to do a few days at a time. Plan to travel as light as possible especially Goatenbridge to Mellory!

Very well signposted, although one finger post sign near Lismore pointed in the wrong direction. Luckily a fellow walker was aware of this and saved us a long extra trek.
Some of the road walking was uncomfortable as we vied with busy traffic.

The actual walk was very good, but the signage from out of Cashel was very bad. Took us an hour to get out. One sign was actually pointed the wrong way, maybe someone had turned it. Also the taxi cabs I rang to arrange a lift back to Cashel didn’t answer.

NOTE FROM ST DECLAN'S WAY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE: Thank you for your review Francis and for flagging the issues you had the with signage in Cashel. One of our fingerpost signs in Cashel has been damaged and we are working to resolve this.

Goatenbridge to Liam Lynch memorial is safe and picturesque. The signage and marker seated areas need improvement.

The signage was overall excellent though my other 2 companions felt they were small. The major drawbacks for the trail were the lack of rest areas along the route and lack of signage directing one to Goatenbridge and Aglish neither of which are directly on the route but are very suitable for a rest area or to refuel. Also giving potential “pilgrims” an indication along the route as to distances covered or distances to travel to landmarks and highlighting these landmarks on roads so one can indicate to taxi services when one decides the walking is completed for the day will help to make the SDW more appealing to a wider group. The roads/tracks from Cashel to Goatenbridge are flat but the rest of the walk all stages are a mixture of up and down a number of inclines the Mount Melleray route being the most difficult but doable. Unfortunately at this stage I would not be recommending the route to anyone unless they were going to make it more piecemeal. The taxis we were fortunate to use were excellent as was the staff in the Lismore Heritage Centre.

NOTE FROM ST DECLAN'S WAY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE: Hello Patrick, thank you for your review. We are always happy to get feedback from walkers, especially as the trail is only approved since July 2021. We are already working to address some of the issues you raise, especially signage to direct people to Goatenbridge and Aglish. Provision of rest areas is another priority. We have a new map brochure almost ready that will provide information for walkers. We hope all of these things will make St Declan's Way more enjoyable for walkers.