Stiomrabhaigh, Orasaigh, South Lochs

Summary

The rugged, hilly estate of Pairc, South Lochs, was once home to many people before being systematically cleared to become a vast sheep farm (and later deer estate). This walk visits Stiomrabhaigh, the site of one of many abandoned villages. It is a beautiful and remote spot, but the walk to reach is very steep in places.

Grade (key)

Bog Factor (key)

Rating

Terrain

The route is waymarked with wooden posts, but can be very boggy underfoot, giving rough going.

Public Transport

None to start.

Start

Orasaigh, South Lochs. Open in Google Maps.

Walk Statistics

Distance: 5km / 3 miles
Time: 1.5 - 2 hours
Ascent: 86m (Profile)
Start Grid Ref: NB364119

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Accommodation

Walk Description

User reports (3)

Stage 1

Park at the village hall in Orasaigh where there are public toilets. Start by heading left (as you face away from the sea) to walk west along the road. Soon after the cattle grid and near the sheep fank is a newly installed picnic area on the right with an information board and map. Turn right to follow a path enclosed between the fences, climbing uphill.

Stage 2

At the top bear right following the wooden marker posts. The route - there are only occasional bits of wet path - mostly contours round the northern side of the hillside until Loch Shaghachain comes into view ahead.

Stage 3

Once above the loch bear left above its eastern shore. The route then cuts southwest across a swampy area between Loch Shaghachain and another loch to the south, aiming for a bit of path that traverses round above Loch Sealg. The route then rounds a corner and maintains height over the heather - keep a sharp eye out for the posts - before descending slowly to reach the greensward and the ruins of the first houses of Stiomrabhaigh.

Stage 4

The first house is perhaps the best preserved though the walls stand only to half way up the height of the windows - it is hard to believe that people lived here as recently as the 1940s. The village was first emptied in 1857 when the residents accepted the offer of leases in Leumrabhagh when their own expired. The village was later resettled in the 1920s before being abandoned once more.

Stage 5

It is a sad but beautiful spot, with the ruins set on beautiful short-cropped grass. There are many more tumbledown ruins - houses, fanks, old enclosures and lazy-beds - a short distance further on. Once you have explored the site, the return walk is back the same way.

Route Profile

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