Tain Way
Long Distance Waymarked Way · Louth
Tain Way is a 40.3 km moderate waymarked loop in Louth, starting near Carlingford.
Grade
| Activity | Grade | Difficulty | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walking | Moderate | Moderate | 2 days |
Getting there
Starts at Carlingford.
- Trailhead coordinates
- 54.04072, -6.18631
- Irish Grid reference
- J 188 117
- Ordnance Survey sheets
- Discovery Series Sheet 36
The National Trails Register's own latitude and longitude fields are empty for all 1,186 trails on it. This trailhead comes from Sport Ireland's separate Trailheads dataset, matched to this trail on its register ID.
Public transport
At Start: Bus Monday to Saturday Check with Bus Eireann.
About the trail
The Cooley peninsula is a mountainous finger of land that extends 19 km from County Louth into the Irish Sea between Carlingford Lough and Dundalk Bay. It is a place steeped in legend, and the site of the epic saga known as The Cattle Raid of Cooley, which tells of a battle between Queen Meabh of Connacht and the champion Cú Chulainn over the Brown Bull of Cooley, an animal of great size and reputation. Apart from the sagas, plenty of evidence survives of the Cooley's rich historical past in its passage graves, portal tombs and the well-preserved medieval town of Carlingford, where John, the Magna Carta king, had a great castle built. Like all places off the beaten track, the Cooley has an aura of agelessness and has become a popular place to escape to, however briefly, and overnight accommodation options are plentiful. The Táin Way is a circular route that loops around Carlingford Mountain (590m) and its western outliers, touching the top of one at Clermont, which has a Bronze Age cairn. Terrain consists mainly of quiet roads, forestry tracks, and open mountain paths, and from the high points the views are spectacularly good, northwards across Carlingford Lough to the Mournes, and southwards down the east coast. Total aggregate ascent is about 1000m, including a few long ascents.
Before you go
21 kms or 52% of the Way follows local roads. ***No dogs allowed on farmland***
- Waymarking
- Yellow arrow on black background
- Dogs
- No
Who manages it
Louth County Council
Carlingford Tourist Office, Carlingford Co. Louth Tel: +353 (0) 42 937 3033 Email: [email protected] Web: www.carlingford.ie
Conditions and closures change. The operator is the authority on both, not this page.
Elsewhere
Trails nearby
Measured trailhead to trailhead, in a straight line.
- Barnavave Loop 46 m away · 14.3 km trail
- Commons Loop 46 m away · 3.2 km trail
- Slieve Foye Loop 46 m away · 9.8 km trail
- Carlingford Greenway Cycling Trail 1.1 km away · 7.7 km trail
- Carlingford Greenway Walking Trail 1.1 km away · 7.7 km trail
- Grange Loops - Molly Loop 3.6 km away · 4.7 km trail
Common questions
How long is the Tain Way?
40.3 km, recorded as a loop on Sport Ireland's National Trails Register. It climbs 1,025 m in total. Sport Ireland estimates 2 days.
How hard is the Tain Way?
Sport Ireland grades it Moderate. Grades are set against national criteria, so they are comparable with other registered trails.
Where does the Tain Way start?
Starts at Carlingford. The trailhead is at 54.04072, -6.18631 (Irish Grid J 188 117).
Can you bring a dog on the Tain Way?
No. The register records dogs as not allowed on this trail.
Can you get to the Tain Way without a car?
At Start: Bus Monday to Saturday Check with Bus Eireann.
Who manages the Tain Way?
Louth County Council. They are the authority on current conditions and closures, not this page.
More in Louth
Trail data from the Sport Ireland National Trails Register, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Trailhead coordinates from the companion Trailheads dataset. Snapshot taken 2026-08-13.