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From 12 – 20 September 2026, the Boyne Valley Trails September Festival will bring one of Ireland’s most storied landscapes to life through nine days of walks, paddles, history tours and wellness experiences.
You can kayak along the Boyne while hearing the myths connected to the river, tackle two days on a long-distance trail, explore a 5,000-year-old passage tomb or try Nordic walking on the Louth coast. There are also sound baths, breathwork, nature walks and guided visits to historic sites.
What makes the festival truly special, however, is not simply where it takes you. It is the people who take you there.
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A Festival Built by the People Who Know the Boyne Valley Best
Boyne Valley Trails is a community-led group of guides, many of them volunteers, with deep knowledge of the landscape they call home. Their specialisms span history, mythology, adventure and wellness, but they share the aim of helping people experience the region more meaningfully.
For festival organiser Kelly-Louise Foley, that shared passion is what makes the event work. “We all met up to discuss a plan, and had an instant connection over our shared love of the place we live in,” she says.
“The level of dedication and expertise of every one of the guides never fails to impress me.”
That connection extends to everyone who attends. Locals see familiar places differently, while visitors discover the area with people who understand its stories, paths and communities. You are walking alongside someone who can reveal what would otherwise remain hidden.
As community historian Brendan Matthews puts it:
“History, heritage, folklore, mythology and archaeology belong to all of us, and this festival makes that feel true.”
Six Highlights from the 2026 Festival
The full programme stretches from relaxed restorative sessions to challenging, full-day hikes. These six events offer a glimpse of just how much is packed into the festival.
Celebrate 40 Years of the Táin Way
The standout challenge of the 2026 programme is The Táin Way 40th Anniversary Celebration on 17 and 18 September.
Opened in 1986, the route takes its inspiration from Táin Bó Cúailnge and crosses the Cooley Peninsula, where the legendary cattle raid is said to have unfolded. For its anniversary, participants will cover 40km across two days with Ellie Berry of Tough Soles and Boyne Valley Walking.
Expect open mountain, forest tracks, quiet roads and waterside trails, with roughly 20km of walking each day. The moderate-grade journey begins and ends in Carlingford, with bus transfers included. It is a rare opportunity to connect the trail’s wild scenery with the epic behind it.
When: 17 and 18 September at 9:30 am
Walk the Boyne Valley Camino
The Boyne Valley Camino Guided Experience on 20 September is the festival’s flagship long walk.
Led by Dusty Flanagan, this 25km figure-of-eight route begins in Drogheda before passing through Townley Hall Woods, Mellifont Abbey, Tullyallen, King William’s Glen and Oldbridge, then following the River Boyne back into town.
The trail forms part of the official Celtic Camino. A passport is included with each ticket, allowing walkers to collect stamps and, if they choose, continue their journey in Spain. The mix of woodland, heritage and riverside scenery also makes it a rewarding day in its own right.
When: 20 September
Four Shore Adventures
Four Shore Adventures also brings stand-up paddleboarding to the programme, offering a fresh way to explore the water around Laytown. Led by local guide Max, the experience lets beginners learn SUP on the River Nanny, where the landscape, wildlife and local history look different from board level. It is active without being intimidating, making it a strong choice for first-timers, families or anyone who wants to trade their walking boots for a paddle.
Paddle Through Myth on Sacred Currents
Sacred Currents: A Journey on the Boyne offers perhaps the festival’s most immersive meeting of adventure and storytelling.
This private kayak tour pairs David Buckley of Boyne Voyage with author and mythologist Anthony Murphy of Mythical Ireland. While David safely guides the group along the tranquil waters at Oldbridge, Anthony reveals the archaeology, sacred traditions, gods and legends woven into the surrounding landscape.
No kayaking experience is required. Instead of admiring the Boyne from a path or bridge, you will travel through the landscape on the waterway that helped shape it.
When: 12 September at 11 am
Discover the Myths and Legends of the Hill of Tara
On 19 September, Anthony Murphy leads The Myths and Legends of the Hill of Tara, exploring a place that served as the seat of Ireland’s high kings and its ancient political capital.
Anthony will unpack Tara’s earliest kingship myths, the unusual ways future kings were identified and the archaeology of monuments spanning 5,000 years of history. It places expert storytelling into the landscape where the stories originated.
When: 19 September
Try Nordic Walking on the Louth Coast
Nordic Walking from Clogherhead to Termonfeckin is an 18km coastal outing suitable for beginners, whether or not you have used Nordic poles before.
Martina Farrell will introduce the technique before leading the group along Clogherhead’s headland and sandy shoreline, with views from the Mourne and Cooley mountains towards Lambay Island. Poles are provided but are optional.
Martina has seen a genuine community grow around these sessions, with walkers exchanging stories, ideas and even visits between Ireland, Scotland and England. “It’s become a brilliant exchange of trails, culture and friendship,” she says.
When: 12 September
Step Inside the Ancient Landscape of Fourknocks
At the Fourknocks Passage Tomb and Ancient Neolithic Landscape tour, Brendan Matthews will take visitors more than 5,000 years into the past.
Beginning outside the passage tomb before continuing inside, this relaxed tour explores Ireland’s earliest farming communities, the people who constructed Fourknocks and the mysteries surrounding their beliefs and burial traditions. The ground is uneven in places, but the experience is not strenuous.
Brendan describes the joy of guiding as “showing someone something they’ve walked past their whole life but never noticed.” Fourknocks provides the perfect setting for exactly that kind of discovery.
When: 20 September
More Than a Walking Festival
These highlights only tell part of the story. Elsewhere in the programme, visitors can explore Beaulieu Estate and Gardens, paddle a relaxed 5km Boyne loop, join local history tours in Stamullen and Laytown, settle into a restorative sound bath or devote a full day to breathwork, Qigong, nature and ice bathing at the Oxygen Reset Retreat.
That breadth is why the festival deserves attention. It welcomes experienced hikers without being only for them, gives history lovers access to local knowledge and offers newcomers supportive ways to try something different.
Most importantly, it feels rooted in its location. This is not a programme of activities that could be transplanted anywhere else. Every walk, story and journey is shaped by the Boyne Valley—and shared by a community that is proud to call it home.
The Boyne Valley Trails September Festival runs from 12–20 September 2026. Places on individual events are limited, so early booking is recommended.
VIEW THE FULL PROGRAMME AND BOOK YOUR TICKETS
