Travel Guide for a Self-Guided Tour of Inis Mór in the Aran Islands - Backpack and Snorkel Ireland Purple Travel Guide
Today, we will do a self-guided bicycle tour of Inis Mór in the Aran Islands. We will see: the Wormhole, the Cliff Fort (Dún Aonghasa), the Ring Fort, the Seven Churches, a Scenic Beach, and Kilmurvey Beach. We provide detailed information and the best things to see and we show lots of photos so you know what you can expect.
1 = Aran Walkers Lodge
2 = Poll na bPéist - The Wormhole
3 = Dún Aonghasa – Cliff Fort
4 = Teach Nan Phaidi - Restaurant
5 = Dún Eoghanachta – Ring Fort
6 = Na Seacht dTeampaill – The Seven Churches
7 = Scenic Beach
8 = Kilmurvey Beach
Here at Backpack and Snorkel Travel Guides, we typically promote self-guided walking tours.
But we realize that not everybody likes to walk by themselves in a foreign city. So, just in case that you rather go with ab guide: NO PROBLEM! Please see the tours below.
Table of contents
Aran Walkers Lodge
If you stay at Aran Walkers Lodge, get instructions from the manager on how to get to Dún Aonghasa – Cliff Fort and get your bicycles and start riding north.
Poll na bPéist - The Wormhole
The Wormhole is sometimes also called Serpents Lair.
It is an almost perfectly rectangular natural tidal pool in the limestone rock landscape. Yes, you read that correctly, the rectangular shape occurred naturally and is not manmade.
It is connected to the ocean by underwater cave channels that regulate the water level.
Even though you may see people jump into the pool, official recommendations are to not swim in it.
The Red Bull Diving Series that was held here in 2012, 2014, and 2017 made the Wormhole a popular tourist attraction.
Google maps is not very helpful when it comes to telling you how to get there – but we do.
First, ride your bicycles to this location (map) and then turn right (westbound) into the side street and follow it almost to the end. Park your bikes at the fence where the entrance to trail (map) is. There was, and hopefully still is, a covered wagon near the opening in the fence to your right.
The trail is visible in the beginning, but soon ends and you will need to follow the red arrows, which is sometimes difficult. Luckily, you will likely see lots of other people who you can follow or people who return and whom you can ask if needed.
The whole hike is only about 2,800 ft (850 m), but it is over uneven terrain that has, at times, sharp rocks, and will likely take you 20 - 30 min.
The following three maps provide more details.
1 = right head turn into side street
2 = trailhead
3 = Poll na bPéist - The Wormhole
Red arrows = bicycle route
Dotted yellow line = trail
Dún Aonghasa – Cliff Fort
Ride your bike towards the Dún Aonghasa Visitor Centre. Park your bicycle at the large bicycle parking lot right before the first building and enter the visitor center.
If you stay at the Aran Walkers Lodge, then you may qualify for free admission.
Inside the visitor center is a small, but interesting museum in which you may want to spend 10-15 min before you exit through the back of the visitor center and follow the path up to the fort.
At the fort, PLEASE stay away from the edge, as it goes straight down at the edge for 330 ft (100 m) and there is zero chance of survival should you fall and chances of stumbling due to uneven footing are high.
Dún Aonghasa, the cliff fort, is the one of the two top attractions in Inis Mór. It is a semi-circular fort that has walls around the land-facing side and steep vertical cliffs that go down 330 ft (100 m) to the ocean.
Dún Aonghasa means Fort of Aonghas and likely either refers to the pre-Christian god Aonghasa from Irish mythology, or the mythical king, Aonghus mac Úmhór.
The construction date of Dún Aonghasa is not known, but archeological dating has shown that most of the structures date back to the Bronze Age (2500 - 500 BC) and Iron Age (500 BC - 400 AD). This area was inhabited since at least 1500 BC.
At that time, sea levels were lower and it is estimated that the ocean was about 0.6 miles (1 km) from the ocean.
The fort has four concentric walls and is up to 13 ft (4 m) thick. The walls that you see today are 10 ft (6 m) tall and mostly reconstructions. The reconstructed wall parts can easily be distinguished from the original walls as they use mortar.
The shape of the original walls was likely oval or D-shaped, but we may never know as parts of the cliff section have likely collapsed into the sea.
Teach Nan Phaidi - Restaurant
By now, you are probably starving. Luckily, there is a good restaurant close by. It is called Teach Nan Phaidi and, to be exact, is the only restaurant nearby. At the time of writing, it is only open from 11am until 2:30pm and they accept VISA, Mastercard, and Euros.
We liked the food, especially the Irish stew.
Dún Eoghanachta – Ring Fort
As with Dún Aonghasa, the exact construction date is not known, but archeological dating has shown that it likely dates back to the Iron Age (500 BC - 400 AD). Inhabitation has been proven in the 5th Century BC.
Dún Eoghanachta means Fort of the Eóganachta, an Irish tribe that was based in Cashel and dominated the Kingdom of Munster in southern Ireland from the 6th - 10th centuries.
The Eóganachta are widely regarded as gentle and more sophisticated than other provincial dynasties in Ireland as they achieved their status primarily through political and economic sophistication and not military conquest.
The fort is strategically located on a hilltop overlooking wide areas of land and also the sea, making it an ideal place for defense and observation.
The fort was surrounded by a ditch that added to its fortification.
The fort consists of a single almost perfectly round wall with a diameter of almost 90 ft (27.5 m). The walls are up to 16 ft (4.9 m) tall and over 12 ft (3.7 m) thick. Inside the fort are remains of several stone houses (clocháns, or beehive huts) and stairs leading up the walls.
Admission to the fort is free and there are no services.
To get to the fort, leave your bicycle at turn of the road and walk through the nearest gate. Continue walking towards the fort that you can see about 850 ft (250 m) away. There are no signs and you will be walking through private lands and several more gates. To the best of our knowledge, this is OK, as long as you close the gates behind you.
I have drawn the map below from memory and I believe it is correct, but cannot vouch for its correctness. Anyway, once you walk through the first gate, keep walking towards the fort and the way will become obvious, as there is only one way to get there.
1 = starting position
2 = Dún Eoghanachta – Ring Fort
Na Seacht dTeampaill – The Seven Churches
Na Seacht dTeampaill or Dísert Bhreacáin was one of the most important pilgrimage destinations on Ireland’s west coast from the 8th - 13th century.
Saint Brecan, the oldest of all saints of County Clare, who lived around 480 AD, is believed to have come here. The main church at Na Seacht dTeampaill, called Tempull Breccain or Teampall Bhreacáin, is named after him - translated to English it means Saint Brecan’s Church.
Don’t be disappointed when you only see two churches and several domestic buildings at the site. It seems that there were never seven churches, but that the name possibly refers to seven churches of the pilgrimage circuit of Rome.
Saint Brecan’s Church is the larger of the two church ruins from the 8th - 13th century. The church is entered through an arched doorway, and it has a nave, and chancel.
The smaller church is Teampall an Phoill or Church of the Hollow from the 15th century.
The two sealed wells were known as Holy Wells.
Scenic Beach
When you are done exploring the Seven Churches, get on your bicycles and take the very short ride down the street that you came to the beach.
Even though you may see a little bit of trash there, it is still a beach with beautiful views, and seabirds, and the perfect place to eat something to get ready to visit the second of the major highlights of Inis Mór.
Kilmurvey Beach
Kilmurvey Beach is also known as Cill Mhuirbhigh. With its white sand and turquoise water, it is the best beach on Inis Mór.
Kilmurvey Beach is a blue flag beach, meaning that it meets high standards of water quality, safety, and environmental management.
In summer, there is usually a lifeguard on duty.
After biking so much and seeing so much, this is the perfect spot to relax for the rest of the day.
In Irish folk legend, Kilmurvey Beach played an important role.
Enda of Aran was a warrior-king who was converted by his sister and later became a Saint. In 484 AD, he was given land in the Aran Islands by his brother-in-law, the king of Munster, where he established the monastery of Enda and divided the land in several parcels.
Legend says that Saint Brecan was very unhappy about Enda's land division. Both came to an agreement: Each would preach a mass at a specific time in their own monastery - Enda’s was in the east end and Brecan’s was in the west end of the island. After they finished their masses, they would walk towards the center of the island and, wherever they meet, would be the border of their lands.
Saint Brecan, however, cheated and began preaching his mass earlier than agreed. Enda learned about this and prayed for divine intervention.
His prayer was heard and Brecan's feet got stuck in the sand of Kilmurvey Beach. As Kilmurvey Beach lies in the western part of the island, Enda ended getting most of the land on Inis Mór.
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