Master John's Marsh Trail

Official walking route

Explorer Tom

Master John's Marsh Trail sounds as though a stern schoolmaster might demand your homework at the gate, but Ards Friary has a gentler lesson ready: slow down and look. This little Donegal loop leads through a wet woodland landscape that many visitors once passed without noticing, and it makes every quiet step count. Sport Ireland lists the trail as an easy 1.2-kilometre loop, taking about 30 minutes with only 16 metres of ascent. Start and finish at Ards Friary car park and follow the green arrows on a white background. The friary says the route winds around a turlough in a natural wet woodland area on the right as you leave its grounds. That is this walk's own identity; it is not the longer forest network, Isabella's Beach or the coastal loop. A short route can be a complete little outing when you allow time to notice its changes. Wet woodland has a different tempo from an exposed shore. Ground, trees and water sit close together, so light arrives in pieces and the smallest movement can become the main event. The friary calls this a newly opened part of its parkland that had been inaccessible for years. Please keep to the intended path; the fact that a habitat has been opened for walkers does not make every soft patch a place to explore. Master John, whoever he was, would surely give full marks for keeping your feet where they belong. Ards Friary lies near Creeslough on the shores of Sheephaven Bay, where the Capuchin Franciscan community tends an extensive landscape of woodland and parkland. The friary describes marsh, beach and coastal walks among the habitats visitors can enjoy. Those nearby pleasures make it tempting to turn one easy loop into an entire afternoon, and that is a splendid idea if you follow the individual routes and signs. For this trail itself, keep your attention on the marsh and the wet woodland rather than promising yourself a sea view at every bend. Dogs are allowed on a lead according to Sport Ireland. Keep them close around other visitors and sensitive ground, and take home anything they leave behind. Wear shoes suited to damp conditions, even for half an hour, and check the current notices at the car park if heavy rain has changed the route. The friary's walking page encourages visitors to enjoy the sights, sounds and sensations of the place; it is a good invitation to move slowly without inventing a rare bird sighting or stepping off route in pursuit of one. Then give yourself permission to linger elsewhere at Ards if the day allows. Donegal has mighty cliffs and enormous skies, but it is generous enough to offer a 1.2-kilometre marsh lesson too. Follow the green arrows, bring your curiosity, and let Master John award you the afternoon.

Path conditions and access can change. Check the official route page before setting out.

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 1.2 km
Walking time: 30 minutes

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What is recorded here

Sport Ireland records Master John's Marsh Trail as a loop route, 1.2 km, graded easy, with a listed walking time of 30 minutes in County Donegal. This page keeps the official start point; the route's local history and the places passed along the way still need to be added.

From Sport Ireland Outdoors 1809

Places near here

Photo credits

Joseph Mischyshyn, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Vadim Manuylov, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
dalvenjah on Flickr, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Maker not stated on source page, wanderyourway.com
Alistair Cunningham, Wikimedia Commons
Maker not stated on source page, www.tripadvisor.com.ph
Rossographer, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
Maker not stated on source page, m.trevio.ru
Maker not stated on source page, www.sunnysarasotahomes.com
Maker not stated on source page, www.ireland.com
Original uploaded by Brendandh (Transfered by Lvova ), Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5

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