72 Hours in County Leitrim: A Slow Adventure Itinerary

I am slightly ashamed to admit this: I have travelled to over 60 countries, and the one I had never properly explored was my own. Time and again, on the other side of the world, someone would ask where I was from, hear “Ireland,” and light up, “it’s stunning.” I’d nod along and quietly wonder why I’d never seen more of it for myself.

So this time, I stayed closer to home. I spent 72 hours on Ireland’s west coast in County Leitrim, and it turns out the people I’d met abroad weren’t exaggerating. This is what a slow adventure through Leitrim actually looks like. This is how I spent 3 days exploring the best of what Leitrim has to offer.

Evening One: Arriving at Drumhierny Woodland Hideaway

The trip began the way any good slow-travel story should, by stepping out of the car and immediately feeling my shoulders drop. Drumhierny Woodland Hideaway sits tucked into its own patch of forest, and the lodge greets you with exactly the kind of quiet that makes you realise how loud everyday life has become. There was no itinerary to think about that first evening, no notifications to check, just a fire to sit by and a glass in hand while the woodland settled into darkness outside the window. Drumhierny is a 90 minute drive from Dublin so very easily done for a weekend. This boutique accommodation offers woodland stays in self catering lodges that sleep up to 8 people, an outdoor spa & surrounded by 5km of nature trails. They also offer weddings here.

Day Two: Mountains, Malt, and a Proper Reset

Day two started with a hike up to the Mass Rock, one of those small, weighty pieces of Irish history tucked into the landscape, a reminder of how much this county has quietly witnessed.The walk itself is only about three kilometres, but it packs in a surprising amount of variety. The first section follows peaceful gravel roads and ends quite steep at the end with a small bit of scrambling. Along the way you will see birds, sheep, stunning views.

• Distance: ~3 km to 3.2 km total (out-and-back)
• Time: 1 to 1.5 hours
• Difficulty: Moderate (features a steady climb and can be boggy in sections)
• Gear: Good waterproof walking boots and walking poles are recommended. Dogs are not allowed.

Parking Information

• Capacity: Space for approximately 10 cars at the trailhead parking area.
• Location: You can find the exact spot by searching Google Maps for “Mullaghgarve Mass Rock”, which navigates directly to the small car park

From there, it was on to Drumshambo, first for lunch at The Shed Distillery, then a tour through Drumshambo Distillery itself, learning how the local gin and whiskey actually come together from grain to glass. From there, it was on to Drumshanbo, first for lunch at The Shed Distillery, then the distillery’s own “Curious Journey” tour.

The Shed has a story worth knowing before you go. It was founded by PJ Rigney on the shores of Lough Allen, and the first whiskey was laid down on the Winter Solstice in December 2014, marking the return of whiskey distilling to Connacht after more than a century. Rigney’s signature creation, Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin, fuses Eastern botanicals with local Irish ingredients, distilled through five custom copper pot stills built in Germany. The distillery has since picked up Georgina Campbell’s Visitor Attraction of the Year award and become one of the county’s must-visit stops.

The Curious Journey Tour runs about 1.5 hours and takes you through the working distillery floor, followed by a guided whiskey tasting in the Maturation Hall and a gin tasting in the Honey Badger Bar. It costs €19 per person and runs seven days a week, 10am–6pm, book directly through The Shed Distillery’s website.

The food and cocktails on offer at the Shed Distillery’s bar and cafe are amazing, stopping here for lunch even if you are not doing. tour is well worth it. The baked good look amazing and I can personally vouch for the burger and pasta hitting the spot.

But the real highlight of the day was back at Drumhierny, the wellness sanctuary. This is slow travel in its purest form: a sauna to properly unwind in, a hot tub, a genuinely bracing cold plunge, and a seaweed bath using VOYA’s Irish seaweed products, which somehow manages to feel both indulgent and deeply local at once. Afterwards, the relaxation area, glass of prosecco included, was less a photo opportunity and more a place I genuinely didn’t want to leave.

And here’s the bit worth knowing: you don’t need to be staying overnight at Drumhierny to experience it. The sanctuary is bookable as a standalone day treatment, with a few ways in, the Hot Tub Experience (€35), the Seaweed Bath Experience (€55), the Aroma Bath Salt Therapy Experience (€45), or the full Wellbeing Experience (€75), which combines the hot tub and seaweed bath together and is the one I’d recommend if you’re only doing it once. Most sessions run around an hour, stretching to closer to two if you add the seaweed bath into the mix, and sauna and relaxation deck access is included across the board. Opening hours shift with the season, so it’s worth checking ahead, but as a guide the sanctuary has run Friday afternoons and full days Saturday and Sunday outside peak summer months. Given how popular it is, book ahead, either online through Drumhierny’s booking platform or directly by phone (+353 71 93 17 053) or email (wellbeing@drumhiernyhideaway.ie).

The day wrapped up with dinner at The Oarsman, a proper, unhurried meal to close out one of the more restorative days I’ve had anywhere in the world, not just in Ireland.

Day Three: From the Blueway to Lough Rynn

It started with a run around Drumhierny’s trials and then continued along the Blueway, Leitrim’s network of walking and cycling routes that trace the county’s rivers and lakes, before a drive out to Glencar Waterfall. Glencar tumbles about 50 feet down a rock face at the edge of Glencar Lough, and it’s an easy one to build into any itinerary: entry and parking are free, and from the car park it’s a five-to-ten-minute walk along a short, wooded, wheelchair-accessible path to the main viewing point, though if you’ve time and proper boots, the longer Glencar Hill Walk (roughly 7km, closer to two hours, and considerably steeper) climbs on from there for wider views over the lake. There’s a picnic area, playground, and public toilets at the car park, plus the teaSHED Café for something warm afterwards.

Lunch was at Jinny’s, a bakery and tearoom on the shores of Acres Lake in Drumshanbo, and it’s a proper family story worth telling. Sinead Gillard, known locally as “Jinny,” her childhood nickname, started out in 2003 selling her own homemade bread to shops around the village, and the business has grown from there into the bakery and lakeside tearoom it is today. Her husband, Pascal, who trained in agricultural and food science, bakes the bread on site, sourdough, baguettes, ciabatta rolls, a skill he sharpened on the visiting French anglers who’d been coming to the family’s cottages for decades and, by his own account, once broke into applause over his bread. That cottage business goes back even further: Sinead’s mother, Moira, opened it in the mid-1970s to draw tourism to Drumshanbo, and the same self-catering cottages built by her Grandfather, now run under the family’s McGuire’s Cottages, are still going today.

After lunch, After lunch, it was an afternoon of stand-up paddleboarding at Lough Allen Adventure Centre, which is as good a way as any to properly understand how much of Leitrim’s identity is tied to its water. From there, we drove to Lough Rynn for the night, where, quite unexpectedly, we were given the bridal suite, complete with its own jacuzzi bath, an entirely unnecessary but very welcome way to end an active day. Dinner was a five-course meal that felt like the county showing off a little, in the best possible way.

Day Four: Gardens, Boats, and One Last Slow Morning

After lunch, it was an afternoon of stand-up paddleboarding at Lough Allen Adventure Centre, which is as good a way as any to properly understand how much of Leitrim’s identity is tied to its water. It’s a proper local success story too, the centre started out in 1993 as a single trailer parked on the shore of Lough Allen and has since grown into the eco-award-winning adventure complex it is today, offering everything from SUP and kayaking through the “Drumshamazon” waterway to a wellness spa of its own, with hot tubs, saunas, and a cold plunge pool. Tour times and pricing vary by season and group size, so it’s best to check current rates directly through their website or by phone (+353 87 272 1001) before you go.

From there, we drove to Lough Rynn for the night, properly the Lough Rynn Castle Estate & Gardens, a 300-acre estate near Mohill with a history stretching back centuries. The land was originally home to the Mac Raghnaill clan, with a medieval castle recorded here as early as 1474, before it passed to the Clements family in 1750, who went on to become the Earls of Leitrim. The current castle building was constructed in 1833 and expanded in the 1880s into the grand baronial house you see today, complete with its ornate hall and oak-panelled rooms. After the estate passed out of the family in the 20th century, it was eventually restored and reopened as a hotel in 2006 under the Hanly family, who still run it. I was given the bridal suite for the night, complete with its own jacuzzi bath, an entirely unnecessary but very welcome way to end an active day, and dinner was a five-course meal at the estate’s Sandstone Restaurant that felt like the county showing off a little, in the best possible way. Rooms, suites, and the self-catering lodges on the grounds can all be booked directly through loughrynn.ie.

The final morning started gently, with a walk through Lough Rynn’s estate gardens before breakfast, a nice reminder that a slow adventure doesn’t have to end with a rush for the airport.

From Carrick-on-Shannon, we took self-drive motorboats out onto the River Shannon with Carrick Day Boats, steering ourselves past the town and out into open water toward Jamestown and Cootehall. No boating licence or experience is needed, the boats are fully electric, seat up to seven, and you get a quick safety briefing before you head off. Sessions run half-day (9.30am–1pm or 2.30pm–6pm) for €120, or a full day for €200, with a refundable €150 deposit at check-in; booking is online only through their site, and it’s worth reserving ahead since slots fill up.

We rounded off the trip with lunch at The Landmark Hotel, right on the banks of the Shannon in Carrick-on-Shannon, a fitting last stop before heading home.

Leitrim doesn’t shout for attention the way some destinations do. It doesn’t need to. Between the woodland hideaways, the wellness sanctuaries, the waterfalls, lovely quaint towns and the lakes, it makes its case quietly and lets you slow down enough to notice.

If you’ve been putting off exploring your own backyard the way I had, consider this your sign. County Leitrim will still be there, unhurried, whenever you’re ready. Follow Leitrim Tourism on Facebook and @enjoyleitim on Instagram to keep up to date with events happening in County Leitrim.