Help me plan a day driving around Lough Corrib in Galway - timing for Ashford Castle Hawk Walk

It's less than an hour's drive from Galway to Ashford Castle, so you should have plenty of time to get there in time for your Hawk Walk. As I recall you can have lunch at the castle without necessarily staying there, which might be a nice (if a little pricey) thing for you to do with your daughter. Don't know about exploring the grounds on foot but would think that if you've done either the Hawk Walk or had lunch there that you'll have the run of the place.
The rest of your day looks fine and easily doable without wearing yourselves out. If you want to explore a little further afield on your loop drive consider a detour up to the famine memorial in the Doolough valley, and maybe stop at Clifden on your way back. The Sky Road scenic drive just west of there is one of Ireland's best.

Thanks! This is part of a larger trip with 3 nights in Galway City, 2 nights on Inishmore, 3 nights in Clifden and 3 nights in Westport so I have the Doo Lough Valley, Sky Road, etc planned...on those Clifden days.

Also does anyone know if we would be allowed to walk around the grounds of Ashford Castle before or after the Hawk Walk?

You can walk the grounds for free if you're seeing the school of falconry. I had to pay a small amount to enter the grounds a couple of years ago but I wasn't doing the hawk walk. You can also walk along the river from Ashford Castle to Cong Abbey, or vise versa to connect them.

A couple of other things you might enjoy with your daughter since you'll be in the area for an extended period of time:
Connemarra National Park might be of interest if you'd like to break up all the driving with a little exercise. There's an easy hike there (maybe a couple of miles) that goes up to a feature called Diamond Hill, with beautiful views out over the countryside and out over the ocean. There's even a resident herd of wild goats that you're likely to encounter along the way.
Also, even if you plan to overnight on Inishmore (good choice) you might enjoy a lower key excursion over to Inishbofin. The ferry runs from the village of Cleggan, only about 15 minutes by car from Clifden. You can circle the small island in a couple of hours encountering pretty hidden beaches, old "Lazy Beds" - potato fields from the old days - as well as a peat bog where you'll encounter some of the locals harvesting the stuff the same way they've done it for hundreds of years. They're easily approachable and will be glad to take a break and explain the process to you if you show the slightest interest.
A side note regarding the crossing to Inishmore - an alternative to the ferry is to fly. Doesn't cost much more than the ferry and is less likely to have to cancel due to bad weather or high sea states. Plus, you'd add a scenic flight into the bargain.

Thank you!

Its nice to know you can walk to Cong Abbey from Ashford. I was worried about parking at Cong Abbey.

I totally have Diamond Hill on my list already. Actually I have so many hikes planned that I'm probably going to have to start training for them soon so I don't wear myself out day after day. LOL! I'll put Inishbofin on my list of possible things to do. If the weather is great and we fit in a few of our weather-dependant hikes (Diamond Hill and Mt Errisbeg) on other days, then I should have a free day around Clifden and this would be a great thing to do.

One of the reasons we are spending so much time in a small area (Galway/Clifden/Mayo) is because I dont want to be driving all day every day, especially since I will be the only driver. So my plan was to have shorter drives and more time to get out of the car and see things.

Hello from Wisconsin,

When you say driving around Lake Corrib I hope you mean the area near to the lake. Cong is as far as you should go on the east side other than Ashford. The east side of the lake is not worth it. Depending upon how fast you move there are MUCH better places to poke around.

Don't go west out of Galway along the coast. Galway to Oughterard is nothing, just drive. It gets prettier as you continue on this road to Clifden and then on to Leenaun. The small road to Cong from Leenaun is very nice. But this loop is likely not possible with an 11:30 Hawk Walk. You might take it in reverse.

wayne iNWI

wayner - my plan is to drive on the east side of the lake first, so counter-clockwise, up to Cong. I will stop at Menlo Castle and Ross Errily Friary (I've never heard anyone say that was not worth it!). I've got a 3 nights in Clifden to explore that area so I am not heading anywhere near Clifden or Leenaun this day. Once I stop at Ashford for the Hawk Walk, I would have the rest of the day for lunch, Cong Abbey, Cong, and stopping to see the Quiet Man Bridge + Augnanure Castle.

Once on the Ashford Castle property, even after getting Hawk Walk directions from an employee at the entrance, we managed to spend 10 or more minutes finding the "Falconry School" and just barely arrived (flustered) at the scheduled appointment. Probably just our ineptitude and/or gawking at the scenery, but you might want to program in a few extra minutes for navigation once "on campus."

PS - My wife and I each had a bird (based on advice from this Forum). Our kind guide noticed me fumbling with our camera in one hand and the bird on other. He asked if he could use my camera. He took some amazing shots of our falcons taking flight that we never would have captured otherwise. I suspect they are all trained to do that but don't be shy about asking if he/she doesn't offer.

Hello!

My husband and I are in Ireland now, and JUST did the Hawk Walk yesterday! We also departed from Galway in the morning (9:08am, if I recall correctly), and ended up being almost half an hour early for our 10:30am appointment. The N84 is a wide, smooth road with speed limits of mostly 100kph, and then the R334 continues to be wide and smooth, with 80kph limits (in other words, no back country lanes to get there). Perhaps because it is not busy at this time of the year, but the "man on the bridge" directed us to just drive all the way back to the school of falconry. I definitely wouldn't expect that in June. If parking at the castle, the walk is along a flat, paved road, and Rick Steves' book says it takes about 10 minutes. Add 10 minutes of fluff time to park and get organized, then use the restrooms once at the school (here's a Google Maps link to the actual location of the school.) I'm not sure about restrooms at the castle---probably not allowed in the building, but I would expect that there are some at "Mrs. Tea's Boutique and Bakery," near where you'll park. So, if you leave at 9am, an 11:30am Hawk Walk would leave you around 45 minutes to walk around the grounds if all went smoothly, I'd say. And, yes, you are allowed.

It was such an amazing experience! Have a great trip!

Thanks so much for those details! I was wondering where the parking was and thought it might be before the bridge, so thats good to know. I'm really excited for my trip. Now if all of this Covid crap would just go away...I'm guessing it will be better in June since people will be outdoors more. Fingers Crossed!