Kinnitty: Hiking, Mountain Biking and Culture

At the foot of the Slieve Bloom Mountains, Kinnitty offers several ways to explore the surrounding area: the Slieve Bloom Way runs across ridges and through valleys, while mountain bike routes start and finish in the village. Other attractions include the neo-Gothic Kinnitty Castle and the unusual Kinnitty Pyramid. If you’re looking for a holiday rental in Kinnitty, you can plan your stay around whether you’d most like to hike, cycle or explore the history of the area.

Hiking among ridges and stream valleys

You can start and finish the Slieve Bloom Way in Kinnitty. Along the way, the route crosses high, heath-covered ridges and passes through deep valleys where streams flow. The different sections of the trail also shape the hiking experience: they include forest tracks, mostly quiet paved roads and paths alongside streams. In the open bogland, the ground can be wet and muddy in places. This description can help you take the changing landscapes and trail conditions into account when planning your day, without reducing the hike to just one type of terrain.

If you’re planning a family trip, you can first consider whether you’d prefer to focus on a hike together or a cycling trip. The Slieve Bloom Way offers a choice between open, heath-covered uplands and valleys with streams, while also covering a range of different terrain.

Mountain bike routes starting in Kinnitty

The Kinnitty Trail is a network of purpose-built singletrack trails and forest tracks on a signposted circular route for mountain bikes. The Slieve Bloom Mountain Bike Trails include more than 90 kilometres of singletrack trails and have a trailhead in Kinnitty. This means there are two different offerings: a network of purpose-built, signposted trails and a larger trail system in the Slieve Bloom Mountains.

For a specific ride, consider the Mountain Bike Blue Trail. It starts and finishes in Kinnitty village, is 14.5 kilometres long and has 306 metres of elevation gain. The estimated duration is 90 to 120 minutes. These details provide a basis for fitting the Blue Trail into your day’s plans. The River Run and Mountain Top mountain bike routes also start and finish in the village. Each is 12 kilometres long; including the full connection, River Run is listed at 22 kilometres and Mountain Top at 30 kilometres.

The Slieve Bloom Mountain Bike Centre offers guided mountain bike tours in Kinnitty and the Slieve Bloom Mountains, mountain bike hire and basic instruction for beginners. When planning, you can therefore choose between a guided tour, bike hire or lessons to get started. The Kinnitty Castle Loop, in contrast, starts and finishes at the Kinnitty Forest Trailhead. Its start and finish point is therefore not listed as being in the village, but at the named trailhead.

A castle and a pyramid: two striking traces of history

Kinnitty Castle is a neo-Gothic castle at the foot of the Slieve Bloom Mountains in County Offaly. It is set within 650 acres of private parkland. The castle’s history includes the destruction of the first castle in 1209 and its reconstruction by the Normans in 1213. These dates refer to the early history of the castle; the neo-Gothic description refers to Kinnitty Castle.

Another striking attraction is the Kinnitty Pyramid, beside the Church of Ireland in Kinnitty, also at the foot of the Slieve Bloom Mountains. Richard Wellesley-Bernard had it built between 1830 and 1834 as a family tomb. The structure is an exact replica of the Egyptian Pyramid of Cheops. At the castle and pyramid, you’ll encounter two very different forms of historic architecture in Kinnitty: a neo-Gothic castle and a pyramid-shaped tomb.

Discover more places

For more ideas of places to visit, you can also explore Birr, Creagh, Toberpatrick, Daingean, Rhode, Banagher, Clonmacnoise and Killurin.

For the county-wide travel overview: County Offaly.