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Outdoor Trails

Discover the great outdoors on Ireland's best walking trails

Air pollution problems — you can almost taste the smoke in the air on cold evenings
Air pollution problems — you can almost taste the smoke in the air on cold evenings
There are major challenges at EU level to achieve the ambitious goal of reducing premature deaths from air pollution by 55% by 2030

Thu, 12 Feb, 2026

Ants — the tiny architects of a healthy planet
Ants — the tiny architects of a healthy planet
With often secret civilisations beneath our feet ants have sophisticated social lives and even practiced agriculture millions of years before humans 

Wed, 11 Feb, 2026

The Pigeon Hole Loop is a great location for a walk on a 'fine soft day'
The Pigeon Hole Loop is a great location for a walk on a 'fine soft day'
Cong was viewed by director John Ford as the quintessential Irish village when he was filming The Quiet Man

Sun, 08 Feb, 2026

Birds of Ireland: Goldcrest
Birds of Ireland: Goldcrest
Goldcrests are the smallest bird in Europe — they are just 9cm long with a wingspan of 14cm

Sat, 07 Feb, 2026

Coastal brown bear, also known as Grizzly Bear (Ursus Arctos) carrying a silver salmon or coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) tha
Salmon deaths and a tyre pollution trial
A US judge will decide if, as research suggests, a chemical tyre additive is harming endangered fish species

Fri, 06 Feb, 2026

Why are Irish communities seeing more flooding and several 'one-in-100-year' floods?
Why are Irish communities seeing more flooding and several 'one-in-100-year' floods?
A one-in-100-year flood does not mean a flood that happens once a century. It means a flood with a 1% chance of occurring in any given year. Two such floods can occur in back-to-back years, or several can occur in a single decade

Fri, 06 Feb, 2026

Views of Sunrise in Clontarf,Dublin.
Are brent geese becoming city geese?
The pale-bellied brent goose, probably the world’s most northerly breeding bird, nests on remote uninhabited islands in Arctic Canada and the 'goose army' arrives in Ireland in winter

Thu, 05 Feb, 2026

Ambitious tree-planting project targets small, half-forgotten spaces
Ambitious tree-planting project targets small, half-forgotten spaces
The 100 Million Trees project uses the Japanese miyawaki method of tree-growing where thousands of trees can be planted close together in relatively small spaces

Thu, 05 Feb, 2026

Beautiful Irish Pasture Land
Why do people keep a close eye on the weather around St Brigid’s Day?
Our second most venerated saint is said to have promised that every second day would be fine from her day onwards. St Brigid died in 525AD when winters were much colder, often with prolonged spells of snow, in sharp contrast to today’s climate

Sun, 01 Feb, 2026

New study on indiscriminate death traps known as tangle nets
S New study on indiscriminate death traps known as tangle nets
We need a ban on the use of tangle netting to bring an end to the carnage of threatened and protected species says ecologist Pádraic Fogarty as a new Marine Institute report highlights serious problems facing wildlife in Ireland's first marine environment National Park

Sun, 01 Feb, 2026

Sky Matters: February's big space event is NASA’s Artemis II mission
Sky Matters: February's big space event is NASA’s Artemis II mission
This will be the first time humans have embarked on a journey towards the moon since 1972 when Apollo 17 completed the manned exploration of our nearest neighbour

Sat, 31 Jan, 2026

Sinkhole Swallows a Car in Florida
An unsettling natural hazard: Here's everything you need to know about sinkholes 
Sinkholes are surprisingly selective. They require the right rock, the right water chemistry, the right underground space and just enough time...

Fri, 30 Jan, 2026

Malaria drug research
Climate change and deforestation helping mosquitos thrive
As the Atlantic Forest dwindles mosquitoes end up feeding more on humans out of convenience — and the risk of disease increases

Thu, 29 Jan, 2026

Flowers are great... until they bloom at the wrong time
Flowers are great... until they bloom at the wrong time
Results of the 16th annual New Year Plant Hunt show how our weather is changing, impacting flowering times and other wildlife — birds, bees, butterflies, and a wide range of pollinators — that depend on our wild plants

Wed, 28 Jan, 2026

Gaelic Woodland Project: Building a community-rooted charity
Gaelic Woodland Project: Building a community-rooted charity
A meitheal was a coooperative labour system used in rural Ireland — an environmental volunteering charity is now using the meitheal method to tackle invasive trees to help create native woodlands, writes Santiago Rial

Sun, 25 Jan, 2026

Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) eating red berries
Birds of Ireland: Blue tit
Blue tits are smaller than robins and both sexes appear similar

Sat, 24 Jan, 2026

Written on the walls: what lichens tell us about our environment
Written on the walls: what lichens tell us about our environment
Lichens have no roots, no waxy leaves and no way to filter what they absorb. Everything they take in comes directly from the atmosphere so they are extraordinarily sensitive to air quality. For more than a century, scientists have used lichens to track pollution

Fri, 23 Jan, 2026

A bus that goes where you ask it to — service being piloted in Limerick, Kerry, and Mayo
A bus that goes where you ask it to — service being piloted in Limerick, Kerry, and Mayo
On-demand shuttle buses and safer cycling show promise, but a cultural shift and investment are still needed

Thu, 22 Jan, 2026

Naked mole-rat DNA repair ability could unlock human longevity
Naked mole-rat DNA repair ability could unlock human longevity
Scientists have identified a protein which repairs defective DNA strands by using undamaged ones as templates. The same protein in humans promotes cancers and shortens life expectancy. The mole rat has managed to evolve a version of the protein which does the opposite

Thu, 22 Jan, 2026

Summing up our swan squad successes 
Summing up our swan squad successes 
The whooper swan is thriving which is certainly something to celebrate and support

Wed, 21 Jan, 2026

Energy, connection, and outdoor fun at Killarney's Wander Wild Festival
Energy, connection, and outdoor fun at Killarney's Wander Wild Festival
In today’s world, it has become increasingly difficult to make ‘real’ connections. To have like-minded people put down their devices and come together in nature proved to be a real eye-opener for Breda Graham

Tue, 20 Jan, 2026

A week-long hike, a three-day hike, or a day out — the Kerry Way has it all
S A week-long hike, a three-day hike, or a day out — the Kerry Way has it all
The 210 kilometre Kerry Way has numerous routes featuring dramatic peaks and windswept loughs, while encountering hidden glens, wild moorlands, and magnificent coastal vistas

Sun, 18 Jan, 2026

Birds of Ireland: Blackcap
Birds of Ireland: Blackcap
A blackcap, which is about the size of a robin, can be very aggressive at a bird table

Sat, 17 Jan, 2026

Mountain stream flows through granite boulders in Glenmacnass valley, County Wicklow, Ireland
The invisible carbon in Ireland’s waters
Dissolved organic carbon may be one of the most underestimated pressures on Irish waters. About 20% of our land area is covered by peat and peaty soils, which are among the most carbon-rich ecosystems on Earth. That makes Ireland uniquely vulnerable to large losses of carbon from land to water

Fri, 16 Jan, 2026

Five Monk Parakeets on a garden fountain in a Santiago garden
'Testing the waters’ when forming new relationships
Monk parakeets don’t rush into friendships. They gradually escalate interactions, starting from safe, low-risk behaviours and moving toward more intimate acts only when trust is established

Thu, 15 Jan, 2026

Wasteful and dangerous to dump batteries and electronics
Wasteful and dangerous to dump batteries and electronics
Lithium is now used in many batteries, especially the rechargeable ones. But a damaged lithium battery can catch fire, or explode, without warning — so for safety reasons, people are asked not to put batteries into general bins, skips, or street bins

Thu, 15 Jan, 2026

Winter weather Jan 8th 2026
Iridescent kingfishers need clear rivers — can we help?
We need to rethink our disregard for water quality, and to get busy restoring Ireland’s rivers to good health

Wed, 14 Jan, 2026

Weathering storms — and new beginnings
Weathering storms — and new beginnings
Alice Taylor, author of To School Through the Fields, grew up on a farm along the Cork‒Kerry border, experiencing a way of life that, though physically demanding, was kind to the land. This is an extract from her latest book, Weathering Storms, in which she writes about the challenges of living well with aging

Sun, 11 Jan, 2026

Birds of Ireland: Chiffchaff
Birds of Ireland: Chiffchaff
Chiffchaffs of all ages have green-grey upperparts, their underside is light yellow-grey, and they have a thin, dark eye stripe with a narrow, dull supercilium ('eyebrow')

Sat, 10 Jan, 2026

Cold enough to remember
Cold enough to remember
Ireland has lived through colder climates than this, and what stands out in hindsight is not collapse, but continuity. During the Little Ice Age (from roughly the 14th century to the mid-19th century) people adapted to altered seasons and unreliable weather without knowing they were living through a climatic shift

Fri, 09 Jan, 2026

Dog looking in the mirror
Dogs 'failed' a self-awareness test... until we tried the right kind of test
Awareness, especially self-awareness, is very difficult to study.  Self-awareness evolved among our animal ancestors and is found in their descendants today. Its presence can be detected using the ‘mirror test’ — but a 'urine test' worked better for dogs

Thu, 08 Jan, 2026

Cold spell brings birds back to our gardens
Cold spell brings birds back to our gardens
As natural food supplies decrease, we'll see robins — and others — returning to gardens and feeders

Thu, 08 Jan, 2026

Teenage girl observing the winter night sky with telescope
January is the best month for astronomy — here's what to look out for
It used to be said that you could test your eyesight by counting the number of stars visible to the unaided eye. The best nights to try this are around January 19 when the Moon is new

Wed, 07 Jan, 2026

Pond reconstruction
Is 2026 the year you build a pond or plant native trees and hedges?
When so much around the globe is coming apart we need things to ground and reassure us. The reality of lengthening days and unfolding seasons can do just this

Wed, 07 Jan, 2026

Lense
Ireland’s 2025 environmental review — and a look ahead to 2026
Ireland did not experience a single defining climate disaster in 2025... climate change in Ireland now operates less as a headline-grabbing event and more as a persistent context

Fri, 02 Jan, 2026

dilapidated cable car at a former ski resort near the town of Zabljak in northern Montenegro
Hundreds of ski slopes lie abandoned... will nature reclaim the Alps?
With the snow line edging higher, 186 French ski resorts have shut, while global heating threatens dozens more

Thu, 01 Jan, 2026

Fox dating and mating season
Fox dating and mating season
A vixen has between 4-5 cubs, born March and mid April after a gestation period of just under two months

Thu, 01 Jan, 2026

International project aims to decode whale communication
International project aims to decode whale communication
Listening to our animal kin — some experts predict that the capacity and technology to understand and talk back to non-human mammals will be developed by the end of the decade, just a few short years away

Wed, 31 Dec, 2025

Blow away the cobwebs with these wonderful winter walks
Blow away the cobwebs with these wonderful winter walks
Here's a handy link to lots of long and short walks suitable for varying skills 

Mon, 29 Dec, 2025

Hiking Ireland’s longest waymarked walking trail takes around three weeks
S Hiking Ireland’s longest waymarked walking trail takes around three weeks
Tbe creation of the Beara Breifne trail involved 'stitching together' 12 existing walking routes so you can of course tackle it in sections 

Sun, 28 Dec, 2025

Birds of Ireland: Short-eared owl
Birds of Ireland: Short-eared owl
Short-eared owls have stiff wingbeats and glide. They are often seen hunting in broad daylight and are regularly seen on the ground

Sat, 27 Dec, 2025

Red Fox At Night
The fox is a fine, healthy thing of beauty — why would we rip her to shreds?
Her coat shone, dense and full. Her amber eyes glowed, cleanly set in a ring of black. A creature of utter perfection, writes environmental activist, Seán Ronayne.  And we allow such majestic beings be chased and violently killed for 'sport'

Fri, 26 Dec, 2025

Mayo Cheeseburger Feast
Saving the planet, one label at a time  
We've had a series of earnest discussions and proposals, including within the European Parliament, about whether plant-based foods should be allowed to use words like 'burger' or 'sausage'

Fri, 26 Dec, 2025

Siccar Point
Tercentenary of the father of modern geology coming up in 2026
James Hutton studied law and medicine and was not a good writer — he initially became a farmer but ended up becoming a celebrated geologist

Thu, 25 Dec, 2025

A beach walk with a little more — explore your shore
A beach walk with a little more — explore your shore
Through the Big Beach Biodiversity Survey,  everyone visiting an Irish beach this winter is invited to record marine life washed ashore by the tides and the storms

Wed, 24 Dec, 2025

East Coast of Ireland: Meath: Newgrange. This is a view of Newgrange taken on the 3rd December 2009 at 9:00am. At this time the
How to watch the Winter Solstice sunrise live from Newgrange this weekend
Everything you need to know about the astronomical phenomenon that takes place on the shortest day of the year

Sun, 21 Dec, 2025

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