The magnificent landscape of the Blue Stack Mountains in south Donegal will be more accessible in future after a number of community groups have come together to open a marked walking route through the area, Sli na gCruacha Gorma, or the Blue Stack Way.
The 120 km route will run from the Border town of Pettigo, where it meets the Ulster Way, to Glenties and Ardara. It will also link up with Donegal town, and an existing walking route through the Gaeltacht area, Bealach na Gaeltachta, at Comeen to the north of the Blue Stacks.
Mr Pat Murphy, a member of the committee co-ordinating the project, said the walk would have a minimum impact on the environment and was being developed in accordance with specifications set down by the National Way-Marked Walk Committee. It avoids going through any Special Areas of Conservation (SACs).
The idea came from a local environmental group, the Blue Stack Environmental Group, which had campaigned against other less sensitive developments. With money from the EU's peace and reconciliation fund, a feasibility study was carried out, which found that with support from local communities, the walk could have very valuable economic spin-offs for the whole area. It was estimated that it could generate an income of £700,000 per year.
Mr Murphy said the traditional image of walkers being back-packers on a shoe-string budget was no longer correct. "Most people who go on walking holidays now are very much the white-collar, middle-management type and they have money to spend, on accommodation and even on souvenirs and gifts. It is estimated that they spend about u £32 per day," he said.
One of the eight or nine different community groups involved, the Drimarone Development Association, has already converted an old Ballroom of Romance-type dance hall into a modern hostel and community centre.
"Apart from showing off the beautiful countryside, we are hoping, for example, that it will be an opportunity for some of the hard-pressed farmers in the area to make extra money by offering B&B or by working as a guide," Mr Murphy said.
FAS has also supported the project, and workers on a Community Employment scheme are now erecting the signposts. A guide book and maps will be available from June at tourist information offices and the Ordnance Survey office.
Mr Murphy said he was confident the walk would be well maintained over the years because of the support it has received from local people all along the route. A financial arrangement for its upkeep is also being worked out between the organising committee and Donegal County Council.
Local people as well as visitors are expected to make good use of the walk. "A lot of people are walking now anyway, but this will encourage them to go off their fixed route and maybe go out a few miles further, where before they would have been afraid of getting lost," Mr Murphy said.