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Holyground, Dingle, Co. Kerry, V92 WY44ModerateOld road · Dingle
An Bóthar
Glas.
A point-to-point walk along An Bóthar Glas (the Green Road), past old walls and mountain lakes in western Dingle.
Also known as The Green Road.
DISTANCE
9.60km
ASCENT
333m
HIGH POINT
411m
My time 4 hr 08 · old road crossing GRADE GUIDE ↗
Reading the map…
INTERACTIVE TERRAIN · ACTUAL GPX TRACKACTUAL GPX TRACK
A recorded time is not a planning estimate. Build your own from pace, ascent, ground, weather and daylight.
01 · DECIDE
Is this your day?
ELEVATION PROFILE
16 m to 411 m.
Every height on this profile was measured on the walk, not estimated between the ends.
Reading the forecast
333 m ascent · 461 m descent
THE LINE
A road with things standing beside it.
The route follows An Bóthar Glas, the Green Road, across rough mountain country, losing more height than it gains before the western finish.
The stonework is worth a closer look. A high retaining wall carries a stretch of the road above the slope, while other walls run beside the lakes and through the lower fields. Its construction date and original use have not been established.
What the road goes past
Whatever the road was for, it was not made through empty country. Three metres off the recorded line is a fulacht fia, a Bronze Age cooking place, and seventeen metres off it a group of stones the Survey has not classified. Neither has a published description yet, so the record is a dot and a name.
The ones that are described are close too. A standing stone twenty-five metres away, 1.18 m high and three quarters of a metre across the base, tapering to a point. Another at forty-four metres, triangular, on poorly drained ground with a commanding view north. Then hut sites on the slopes of Knockmoylemore, and clocháns: circular corbelled drystone, one of them 2.05 m across and still standing 1.59 m high.
Not on any old map
The triangular stone is a recent addition to the record. It appears on no edition of the historic Ordnance Survey sheets, and the Survey credits its identification to Ina Doyle. Somebody walked that ground and looked properly.
The cashel in the pass
A hundred and forty metres off the line, in the pass between Knockmoylemore and Sugarloaf, is a cashel. It sits a hundred metres west of a ford across the Garfinny river: a stone-walled ring about nineteen metres across inside, its wall 1.8 m thick and 1.7 m high. A clochán 5.2 m wide stands in the middle of it, and an iron gate now hangs in the entrance.
- 01Old-road openingThe route begins at 144 m and follows the historic line.
- 02Lake countryOld walls and water sit beneath the surrounding mountains.
- 03Past the fulacht fiaThe line runs within three metres of a Bronze Age cooking place, and past standing stones, huts and clocháns.
- 04Highest groundThe route reaches about 411 m.
- 05Western finishThe line descends to its finish near sea level.
Everything beside the road is from the Archaeological Survey of Ireland, measured from the recorded GPX to each published coordinate: the fulacht fia KE043-261 and the unclassified stone group KE043-255, neither yet described on the Historic Environment Viewer; the standing stones KE043-174 and KE043-265; the clochán KE043-048; the hut sites KE043-119 and KE043-120001; and the cashel KE043-166. The described records come from J. Cuppage, Corca Dhuibhne: Dingle Peninsula Archaeological Survey (Ballyferriter, 1986). The triangular standing stone was identified by Ina Doyle and compiled by Caimin O’Brien. The stonework and waymarkers are shown in my photographs. An Chonair, recorded by the Placenames Database as Connor Hill Road in Garfinny parish, has not been securely identified with this recorded route, so it is not used to date or explain the Green Road.
Forecast for around 400 m
Reading the forecast…
NOW
WIND
TODAY’S PEAK RAIN CHANCE
Reading the forecast…
–cloud
–humidity
–km/h peak gust
Strongest wind today–
Peak gust–
RECENT RAINFALL · LIKELY GROUND
NEXT SIX HOURS · swipe
Reading the forecast
Forecast. This is a modelled estimate for this route’s high ground; conditions can differ sharply across the mountain. Derived from Open-Meteo forecast data ↗.
HAZARDS & OPTIONSKnow the commitment.
Rough, wet or indistinct sections may slow progress.
Mountain weather can reduce visibility around the higher ground.
Old walls and historic structures should be left undisturbed.
If weather or ground conditions become unsuitable, return along the known section before committing to the crossing. Do not descend across enclosed land without confirming access.
FROM THE MOUNTAIN
My photographs.
03 · GO
Getting there.
Start well.
STARTKilmore Cross
Select coordinates to copy
The walk starts at Kilmore Cross and finishes in Dingle, so arrange transport before you set out. Check parking and current local access.
ROUTE FILE
Take the route with you.
The original GPX, exactly as walked. Load it into your watch, phone or offline mapping before you leave signal.
Download original GPXan-bothar-glas.gpx · as recorded
Confirm the download when your browser asks, then open the file from your browser’s downloads and your mapping app will offer to take it. HiiKER and Garmin Explore both do; the route loads on HiiKER’s free tier, though its EastWest mapping of the Irish uplands is a paid layer. Onto a watch: import the GPX into Garmin Connect, Komoot or Strava and send it to the device from there.
Read the ground. Keep your margin.
Conditions can change the seriousness of any route.
Before you leave
- Check the forecast and warnings
- Plan your daylight
- Save the GPX or an offline map
- Pack footwear and layers
- Share your route and return time
Leave a plan.
Tell someone your route and return time. For emergencies in Ireland call 112 or 999 and ask for Mountain Rescue.
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