Kiltealy Walking Trails – a delight of birdsong, butterflies, and bygone days

Kiltealy Walking Trails open up a vista across Co. Wexford, across fields, past wind turbines, across to the coast. The 7.6km Cullentra trail, which takes about two hours, takes you through fields, lanes, forest pathways and is a riot of birdsong and butterflies. You’ll walk up towards and around the Blackstairs Mountains, which run along the Wexford-Carlow border.

The trail starts in Kiltealy village itself. Just south of the car park near the church, you’ll find a country lane, with a helpful arrow. Follow the lane, leave An Botin, a ford stream to your right, and follow the sign for the Mass Path. This takes you through two fields, over a granite stile, and up along Cullentra Lane. You’ll pass restored stone houses and a lime kiln, now a very attractive fairy garden!

Views of Co. Wexford

At the top of the lane, before heading up left along the trail, take in the stunning views across the county first! This is what mindful walking is all about – pausing to take in nature’s gifts. As you follow the trail uphill, it’s just you, the birds, butterflies, gorse bushes, stone walls, and fields of trees. It’s all way-marked and the variety of terrain on this walk makes it interesting. From the initial fields, to the concrete of Cullentra Lane, to unsealed pathway uphill. Then you turn right further uphill on a grassy trail, with trees on either side. At the top, thankfully, an arrow sends you right again and you’re at the start of the descent through the second part of the loop.

Mount Leinster across the way

From here, you walk down through a Coillte forest on a wide forest track. As you descend, you come to stunning views of Mount Leinster across the way. This is easy terrain, leading you back to quiet country roads, and signposts you back to Cullentra Lane.

This is one of the more interesting walks we’ve done. Walking the ancient Mass Path through the fields, you can’t but wonder at whose footsteps you’re walking in. How people from Cullentra Lane must have used this as a short cut to the church in Kiltealy.

At the gateway to the Mass Path and on Cullentra Lane are round stone pillars which you see a lot in south Wexford. The granite stile, the closeness of the houses on Cullentra Lane hinting at a close community formed in bygone days. The lime kiln, the stone walls, fields tucked way up towards the Blackstairs … This is a walk with so many different viewpoints and terrains, that you really don’t notice the time passing. Well done, Kiltealy, and Wexford Walking Trails!

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