St Patrick’s Way – dubbed the Pilgrim’s Walk – is an 82-mile walking trail taking in many of the snake-banishing saint’s most important historical sites in counties Armagh and Down in Northern Ireland
St Patrick is everywhere in March.
Yes there are the enormous celebrations on the 17th itself with shamrocks and Guinness aplenty. But they are gradually growing into an all-consuming behemoth that threatens to turn the whole month green. It’s no surprise – Paddy’s is a feast day forever linked to fun. There aren’t many other events in the calendar geared towards such joy and merriment. Some would say even Christmas comes a close second.
But like other modern versions of these holy days, what’s perhaps been lost for many is any sense of what we were honouring in the first place. I have certainly been as guilty of that as anyone over the years. So I was excited to right those wrongs on the ultimate pilgrimage honouring the big man in the run-up to St Pat’s in mid-March.
St Patrick’s Way – dubbed the Pilgrim’s Walk – is an 82-mile walking trail taking in many of the snake-banishing saint’s most important historical sites in counties Armagh and Down in Northern Ireland. Set across some of the UK’s most breathtaking countryside and friendliest, most charming towns, it’s a yomp that will have you yearning to return to Ulster.
Our group, led by fantastic local tour guide Donna Fox, began its odyssey fittingly in Ireland’s ecclesiastical capital, Armagh, a small city home to not one but two stunning cathedrals named after Patrick – one Church of Ireland and one Catholic. The starting point on the route – although obviously the path can be followed in reverse should you wish to start from Downpatrick – is the ancient Navan Fort, thought to be the site of a pagan sanctuary and what brought Patrick to Armagh. It offers incredible views of the area and an immersive experience of life in the Iron Age demonstrating elements such as cooking, weaponry, weaving and the daily life of a Celt.
It is just two miles from the Armagh City Hotel, a good spot to stay the night and explore the city’s historic locations including the peaceful Mall in the centre, where I was surprised to learn cricket is still played or the Palace Demesne, the oldest Franciscan Friary in Ireland. Any trip here is also well worth accompanying with a traditional Irish music session at one of the local pubs – Red Neds on Ogle Street was a fine venue for ours.
Although St Patrick’s Way is designed as a walking route, there is always more than one way to skin a cat. After a wonderful lunchtime stop-off for soup and afternoon tea at the idyllic guesthouse and dining spot Blackwell House, just down the road in Scarva, day two saw us swap two legs for two wheels. The fantastic team from Bike Mourne set us up with E-bikes for an ideal afternoon cycling down the Newry Canal Towpath. It’s a phenomenal way to take in the scenery while keeping active but shaving some time off your route at the same time. From Scarva to Newry was about 15 miles and took us about two hours at a leisurely pace.
After leaving Newry your next stop is Rostrevor and the beautiful Kilbroney Forest Park, overlooking Carlingford Lough and said to be C.S Lewis’s inspiration for Narnia, before continuing on to the coast and the wonderful seaside town of Newcastle. While there, do yourself a favour and stay at the hip and very well-appointed Avoca Hotel where you’ll want to stay for days whiling away the hours reading by the windows of its seaview rooms or walking along the promenade lapping up the sounds of the Irish Sea.
This route gives you an incredible experience of all that this beautiful country has to offer in terms of the great outdoors, but perhaps the most stunning part was our hike on Day Three, starting just outside Newcastle and winding through Tollymore Forest Park, where Game of Thrones had filming locations and a new, darker Robin Hood adventure starring Hugh Jackman was being filmed.
Our guides for this part of the tour were the inimitable Martina Purdy, a former BBC journalist and Elaine Kelly, a former barrister, who gave up their old lives to become nuns and have since become pilgrim guides on St Patrick’s Way. Their enthusiasm and devotion to the inspiring story of their country’s patron saint are infectious.
We learn from them on our fascinating ramble through the countryside about Patrick’s journey from a young boy kidnapped by raiders from his home country (thought most likely to be Wales or the west of England) to a shepherd on Slemish Mountain, Country Antrim, to his later calling and return to the Emerald Isle to (very successfully) spread the word of Christianity. They encouraged us to take moments of silence in the area’s awe-inspiring beauty and gave our trip an added spirituality that was truly moving.
The final leg took us to Downpatrick, close to the Struell Wells, which date before the time of St Patrick, Saul Church, built on the site of Saint Patrick’s earliest place of Christian worship in Ireland, and Slieve Patrick, the hill with the tallest statue of Patrick in the world. Saul Barn is also a convenient spot to have a bite to eat in a beautiful setting for these worthwhile excursions.
We also found ourselves canoeing down the beautiful Quoile River to another Game of Thrones filming location, the mystical monastic Inch Abbey, which is another perfect chance to connect with the tranquility of the area. St Patrick’s grave next to Down Cathedral is also a must-visit. There, Martina and Elaine wisely told us, was a good spot to leave whatever worries you might be carrying on your shoulders.
You can stay at Denvir’s of Downpatrick, the oldest surviving coaching inn in Ireland (1642), which serves traditional, hearty food and has comfortable rooms. While there, you may also wish to indulge in a hysterical spot of Irish dancing at Denvir’s, where former Lord of the Dance star Josephine Brennan King runs a brilliant experience called Dancing At The Crossroads. It’s an absolute hoot – but, be warned, it’s nowhere near as easy as Josephine makes it look. After no more than ten minutes of not-so-fancy footwork, I needed a lie down.
Along the way we had been collecting stamps for our special Pilgrim’s Walk passports (which can be obtained at the Navan Centre & Fort in Armagh or at local Visitor Information Centres). These really added to the fun, especially finding some of the fiendishly hidden stamping locations.
The trail is a terrific way to understand a bit more about the man billions of glasses are raised to every year. His footprints are all over the island but perhaps nowhere more than this incredible area of natural beauty and wonderful people. Sadly it all had to come to an end with our final stop, fittingly, at the St Patrick’s Centre in Downpatrick (featuring a terrific exhibition and moving film) just a couple of daysbefore March 17 itself, where the legendary Eurovision winner Dana was set to perform that evening. It really doesn’t get more Irish than that.
Sláinte!
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Visit Ireland.com for more inspiration, and Visit Armagh for more information about this route.