The Walk

Join us on Saturday, 25th September 2021 for our annual Hike to the Hook, a 20km road walk along one of Ireland’s most scenic routes, it will start out from the majestic Tintern Abbey and end at the world-famous Hook Lighthouse.

The route will take in the picturesque village of Saltmills with views out to Bannow Bay, Then on to Fethard-on-Sea, past Fethard Castle, with a rest stop and joining point at the RNLI Boat House. For those of you not ready to take on the full 20km, join here with 12.5km left to go.

Walkers will then head on past the historical Baginbun, over the hill by Templetown Church, taking in the beautiful panoramic views of our coastline all the way to Sliabh Coilte.

Now over halfway, walkers will pass the infamous Loftus Hall, where families are welcome to join for the final 3.5km to Hook Lighthouse.

Proceeds from Hike to the Hook 2020 will be shared between Hook Tourism, Fethard on Sea RNLI and Tintern Trails.

Check out the Hike to the Hook route on Google Maps

Walk options and entry prices

20km – Tintern Abbey to Hook Lighthouse – Over 18’s only – €25
12.5km – RNLI Boat House to Hook Lighthouse – Over 12’s only – Adults  €15 – Children 12-16 €12
3.5km – Loftus Hall to Hook Lighthouse – Adults €7 – Children €5

Hook Tourism

Hook Rural Tourism Ltd is a community organisation on the Hook Peninsula, County Wexford.  The organisation has been in existence for 50 years and works to promote the Hook Peninsula as a premier tourist destination and to protect its unspoiled coastal landscape and built heritage.  Hike to the Hook is one of a number of events our organisation arranges annually.  Our activities include running an annual photography competition & exhibition, organising Hooked on the Sea Festival weekend, organising Tri the Hook sprint triathlon, running the area website www.hookpeninsula.com, producing two brochures annually and managing a number of social media pages.

The RNLI

The Fethard on Sea RNLI provides a voluntary based, 24 hour lifeboat search and rescue service while also working to help end prventable loss of life at sea through the promotion of sea and beach safety.  As a charity, the RNLI depends on the generosity of the public and the goodwill of our volunteers to maintain its search and rescue service which is essential to our coastal area.  Fethard RNLI has rescued 73 people from 109 launches in the last 10 years.

The Tintern Trails

The walking trails around TIntern Abbey were official launched in 2018 on August 20^th  by Minister Paul Kehoe T.D. Work on developing these trails began  in the 1980’s and the work done at that time represented the start of what is now the Tintern Trails. In 2013 the Tintern Trails Development Committee was established as a sub-group of Hook Rural Tourism. The work  has progressed to the stage where there are now five looped walking trails, covering a distance of sixteen kilometres, including a five kilometre section suitable for buggies and a shorter section suitable for wheelchairs. Four of the trails are located fully within the Tintern Woods. Each trail is colour coded and the length and grade is clearly marked, making it easy for walkers to select the walk most suited to their abilities.

To date the cost of developing the trails has come from a combination of voluntary labour, local fundraising events, contributions in kind and grants from local and national government sources.  The estimated cost of the work done to date on the trails, including labour, is €400,000.  Ongoing funding is required to ensure that the trails are maintained to the required standard and also to develop new initiatives designed to enhance the experience of people using them.  These initiatives include a biodiversity programme to help people identify some of the plants found in Tintern woodlands and a family orienteering programme using the carvings located along the trails.

FAQ

Bookings

• Bookings for Hike to the Hook 2021 are now open
• You must book your place online.
• Bookings for participants under the age of 18 must be completed by and with terms of participation being agreed to by a parent or guardian and where a person under the age of 18 has been booked, event organisers will assume this to be the case.
• Terms of Participation can be found here.

On the day Registration

• All participants are required to register their attendance on the morning of the walk.
• Registration for the 20km walk will open at 7:00am at the entrance to Tintern Abbey and will close at 8:15am.
• The 20km walk will commence at 8:30am sharp.
• Registration for the 12.5km walk will open at 9:30am at the RNLI Station in Fethard on Sea and close at 10:15am.
• Registration for the 3.5km will open at 11:00am near Loftus Hall and closes at 11:30am.

Parking

• Parking for the 20km walk will be at the Boortmalt Grain Store. Participants will walk from here to Tintern Abbey to commence the walk. Parking at the Abbey is strictly prohibited for participants.
• Parking for the 12.5km walk will be at St. Mogues GAA clubhouse with the walk commencing from the RNLI station. There is no parking available at the station.
• Parking for the 3.5km walk will be near Loftus Hall
• The gates for parking at the Boortmalt Grain Store will be locked at 3:30pm. All cars must be offsite at this time.
• Unfortunately the complimentary bus service will not be operating this year. Participants must make their own arrangements for pickup at the finish line.

Toilets/Refreshments

• Toilet facilities will be provided at the Boortmalt Grain Store and again at the RNLI station in Fethard-on-Sea.
• While there will be two water stations on the route it is advised that participants also carry extra water themselves.
• There will be a stop for participants of the 20km walk at the RNLI station.
• A second water station will be located approximately 4km from the finish line.
• Refreshments will be provided for all participants arriving at Hook Lighthouse.