The Slieve Bloom Mountains, halfway between Dublin and Limerick, with their landscape of moors, forests and secret valleys, are typical of the Irish countryside. On your walks, you will happen upon attractive manor houses and villages.

The Slieve Bloom Mountains are less well-known and receive fewer visitors than the Wicklow Mountains (to the south of Dublin) and have retained the wildness and legendary imagery that tourists seek in the Irish countryside. These mountains are located in the heart of the country, in the County of Laois, and rise up to 528 m, at Mount Arderin. From the top of the mountain, in fine weather, you can see the highest peaks in Ireland, in Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connaught. If you travel by car, the road from Birr to Mountmellick, to the north of these mountains, offers stunning views. On your ‘solitary’ route, you will come across moorlands as far as the eye can see, pine forests, peat bogs, green winding valleys, with the occasional ‘poor’ farmstead and the occasional village such as Ballyfin and Clonaslee. If you like walking, there is a magnificent 80 km path, the Slieve Bloom Way, through the mountain which links up most of the interesting sites (Mount Arderin, The Cut...). Apart from what nature can offer, there are other sites worth exploring: the charming hamlet of Kinnitty; Glenbarrow and its walk along the river; St Fintan’s Tree, remains of a C6th monastery; Ballyfin House, on the lakeside, one of the finest C19th Manor houses in Ireland. A short distance from the Slieve Bloom Mountains, tourists can continue as far as Clonmacnoise to visit the greatest monastic site in Ireland, on the edge of the River Shannon.