Beyond the end of the road near Louisburgh sits a working sheep farm holding a famine village untouched for nearly two centuries. The Bourke family, farmers here for eight generations, lead the only way in: a pre-booked guided walk.
The only way to see the valley is the Bourke family's guided walk along a well-developed looped trail. It moves at a relaxed, leisurely pace with frequent stops while Gerard tells the researched history of the Great Famine and the families evicted from here. Suitable for all ages; wear sensible footwear.
The tumbled cabin walls and countless potato ridges have lain undisturbed for nearly 200 years, making this arguably the finest surviving memorial of the Great Famine. A cross erected by the Bourkes remembers the banished and those in unmarked graves.
The valley is an active working farm, and tours include a sheepdog herding demonstration, with sheep shearing on request in season. No dogs are allowed with visitors — this is a working farm.
The walk passes a waterfall that runs in spate after rain, with views over Clew Bay and the Wild Atlantic. Old apple trees survive near the ruins, now surrounded by ash, oak, hazel and rowan woodland.
The farm borders Silver Strand beach (once rated among Europe's finest), Mweelrea, the highest mountain in the west of Ireland, and Killary Fjord, Ireland's only fjord. Note: Uggool beach is officially classed as dangerous — quicksand, rip currents and fast high tides make bathing unsafe.
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