The Great Western Greenway

There are 43 long-distance trails in Ireland designated as National Waymarked Trails by the National Trails Office of the Irish Sports Council. These trails are inspected annually by the National Trails Office and are maintained by local management committees, Local Authorities, Local Development Companies and other State Agencies. All routes follow woodland paths, grassy boreens, fields, riverbanks and quiet country roads in the lowlands and forestry tracks and mountain paths in the uplands. Each trail is waymarked with square black posts containing an image, in yellow, of a walking man and a directional arrow, a symbol reserved for use only by National Waymarked Trails.The oldest trail is the Wicklow Way, the first section of which opened in 1980. It was followed by the South Leinster and East Munster Ways in 1984; the Kerry Way and the Táin Way in 1985; and the Dingle and Slieve Bloom Ways in 1987. National Waymarked Trails continue to be developed and there are now over 4,000 kilometres of routes in Ireland. The highest concentration of routes is in the Munster region. The most frequented trails are the Wicklow, Sheep's Head, Kerry, Dingle, Beara, Burren and Western Ways.In addition to the National Waymarked Trails, the Heritage Council has developed a series of walking routes based on medieval pilgrimage paths. Two greenway rail trails have also been developed. Many of the National Waymarked Trails form part of larger long-distance and transnational trails such as European walking route E8, the Beara-Breifne Way and the International Appalachian Trail.
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