Slí na Sláinte, or Path to Health, is the brainchild of the Irish Heart
Foundation. Its aim is to make us all healthier through the benefits of
walking. Here Orla Rapple looks at some of the routes throughout Ireland.
Walking in Ireland is one of the most enjoyable and enlightening activities
there is.
Many tourist attractions in the country are within just a few kilometres
of each other and one scheme has taken advantage of this and come up with
a list comprehensive walking routes that will help to increase your level
of fitness while taking in some of the many landmarks in Ireland.
Slí na Sláinte or Path to Health is the brainchild of the Irish Heart
Foundation who set up the scheme in 1996 in order to make walking for health
an enjoyable hobby with easily attainable goals.
Walking is thought to be one of the most beneficial and low impact leisure
activities there is and medical experts believe that 30 minutes of brisk
walking three times a week is a perfect way to strengthen levels of fitness
and lessen those stress levels associated with life in the 21st century.
Walking is the preferred exercise option for 47 per cent of Irish people
and those who take regular exercise are less likely to experience premature
death from heart disease or stroke and generally enjoy better health.
Although taking exercise may not be your primary reason for coming to
Ireland, by taking a Slí na Sláinte you can easily visit a number of the
tourist attractions available in the area you are visiting while doing your
body some good. Some of the landmarks included on different paths throughout
Ireland include Parnell’s homestead in Co. Wicklow— Avondale, the Botanical
Gardens in Dublin and Bere Island in Cork.
There currently just over 100 Slí na Sláinte routes throughout the country
in both urban and rural settings. They total 488 kilometres and vary in
their length and difficulty levels. The longest route is 20 kilometres from
Howth to Fairview on Dublin’s coastline, where it follows the road in a
circuit around Howth Head from the Marine Hotel at Sutton Cross.
It then continues along the coast from Sutton along the Clontarf Road
past Kilbarrack, Raheny, Dollymount, Clontarf and into Fairview.
The shortest Slí na Sláinte is in Co. Kildare in Athy town, and although
it covers just 2.6 kilometres this route takes in some of vastly different
sites in the town.
The Athy sli starts at the courthouse by the River Barrow, a historic
Jacobean-style building which was opened as the town’s Corn Exchange building
in 1857 and converted to the Courthouse in 1891. It then continues along
the Barrow Path, under the Horse Bridge and Railway Bridge and along the
canal path to the slipway that leads to the Carlow Road.
It is then on to St. Michael’s Church of Ireland, which was built in
1840 on a site owned by the Duke of Leinster. The sli then leisurely leads
you by the People’s Park and back to the Courthouse.
Other short routes include the Blarney sli in Co. Cork, a three-kilometre
walk that starts at the tourist information office in Blarney village and
takes you to the Clogheenmilcon Sanctuary where the sli then leads walkers
to a path away from the traffic to a nature reserve where you can catch
a glimpse of the local wildlife.
Each route on Slí na Sláinte is clearly signposted and divided up into
kilometre intervals so that walkers can keep track of their progress. These
signs are not numbered and walkers can start at the most convenient sign
and complete the route as they wish.
Any age group can take part in Sli na Slainte and the Irish Heart Foundation
have set out programmes and guidelines to ensure that each walker knows
their limits.
The Slí na Sláinte routes take in some of the most beautiful and historic
scenery around Ireland. The Tara sli, in Co. Meath, for example, is just
4.4 kilometres but takes in the Hill of Tara, Castletown House and a number
of ring forts in the area.
The Duchas Interpretive Centre and the newly-erected statue of Saint
Patrick are also on this sli, so walkers can get fit and then stop off for
a rest in some of Ireland’s most interesting tourist areas.
For those who like to test their abilities the Irish Heart Foundation
has created the Sli Challenge: Every person who accumulates 500 kilometres
and marks it on a Sli Challenge Record Sheet receives a specially designed
silver Sli pin. Make it to 1,000 kilometres and a gold pin is your reward.
The Slí na Sláinte is so popular that routes have now been established
throughout Europe with Canada and the USA also planning to put routes in
place.
Whatever your reason for visiting Ireland, the convenience and diversity
of the various Slí na Sláinte routes means that you have no excuse for refusing
to get some exercise while on holiday.
n For more information on Slí na Sláinte and to obtain a Sli Challenge
Record Sheet you can contact the Irish Heart Foundation at 00 353 1 6685896
or e-mail info@irishheart.ie.
