Walkers of all ages took to the newly-opened trails of Galway Wind Park on Saturday 16 June for a special event, held in conjunction with the Oughterard Trails Festival, to mark Global Wind Day.
The trail walk through Ireland’s largest wind farm in stunning Connemara was jointly hosted by SSE and Coillte. This was the first time that such an event was held at Galway Wind Park to celebrate Global Wind Day, a worldwide, annual event that encourages people to discover the power of wind energy.
Saturday’s trail walk along the Seecon Lake Path offered many beautiful vantage points to appreciate the Burren, Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands, as well as the opportunity to get up close to the magnificent wind turbines located in the Cloosh Valley.
The guided walk was led by Noel Joyce who shared stories about the nature, ecology and heritage of the valley, as well as SSE’s John O’Sullivan who gave an overview of the operations at Galway Wind Park.
Speaking after the event, SSE’s John O’Sullivan said:
“We’re delighted that so many walkers joined us for our first ever guided trail walk as part of the Oughterard Trails Festival. We’re really proud that the trails at Galway Wind Park featured in the Oughterard Trails Festival, which in itself is such a fantastic, fun-filled weekend celebrating the joys of walking in beautiful Connemara. To see everyone enjoying the recreation trails at Galway Wind Park, which themselves were developed with local community stakeholders, was a real high point for everyone who works at the wind farm. Everybody really enjoyed the afternoon walk, had plenty of stimulating questions to ask about the project, and even got in a great work out! We can’t wait to be involved again.”
Oughterard Trail Festival organiser Sinead Grimes commented:
"We were delighted with the turn out for the walk at Galway Wind Park. It was a lovely mix of locals and visitors alike and it was a pleasure to share these new routes with everyone who came along. We try to keep the Oughterard Trail Festival small and friendly to ensure the personal touch. It is important to us to ensure that everyone enjoys their visit and we have already some great walks planned for next year."
