LOCATION:
Anglesboro
Kilmallock
Co. Limerick
Ireland
V35 TF34

phone: 086 850 4521
Email: info@bothansauna.ie

THE GALTEE MOUNTAINS

The walk on the doorstep

The Paradise Hill Loop starts and finishes at the community centre in the village, a few minutes from our gate. Half a day, waymarked, forestry road and old turf tracks rather than open mountain — the road you climb is the one turf came down on, by sled, off Temple Hill.

Do the loop in the morning and book the sauna for after. That is the right way round, and it is what most people here end up doing.

For the hill people

The Benard Loop goes further and harder from the same start, with Knockaceol — the hill of music — in view along the way.

And if you are doing the full Galtee Crossing, you finish in Anglesboro. Ten hours on the ridge, and then heat, cold water and somewhere to sit down. Book ahead for that one.

For the seasoned walker

We are at the western end of the range, so the tops are reachable on foot from here. Temple Hill at 783 m is the nearest and the westernmost in the Galtees. East of it the ridge runs Lyracappul at 825 m, the second highest point in Limerick, then Carrignabinnia at 823 m, Slievecushnabinnia at 775 m, and Galtymore at 918 m — the highest point of both Limerick and Tipperary, and one of Ireland's thirteen Munros. Do Temple Hill on its own for a half day, add Lyracappul and Carrignabinnia for the western horseshoe, or walk the full ridge, which is the skyline you see from the cold plunge. Open mountain and no path worth the name, so bring OSi Discovery sheet 74.

The Galtee Challenge

Once a year Galtee Walking Club runs the full east-to-west crossing of the range: thirty-one kilometres from Cahir, around 1,700 m of ascent, all the major peaks, self-navigated, finishing here in Anglesboro with a certificate and a hot meal in the hall. There is a shorter route too — eighteen kilometres from the Black Road, about 1,200 m of climbing, self-navigated or with a guided group. Over-eighteens, or twelve to eighteen with an experienced adult. Whichever you walk, you finish in our village. Book the sauna for the end of the day rather than the start.

Shorter Challenge: The shorter challenge can be self navigated or be done as part of a led group. The route involves an 18 km hike from the Black Road to Anglesborough, taking in most major peaks with a total height gain of 1200 metres approx. and a maximum altitude of 919 metres. The route stretches from the Black Road to Galtymore, Slievecushnabinna, Carrignabinnia, Lyracappul and Temple Hill with the finish at Anglesboro. For details on the 2027 challenge, https://galteewalkingclub.ie/