Glencar Waterfall

Glencar is a narrow glacial valley on the Sligo and Leitrim border with a lake along its floor and limestone cliffs above, and several waterfalls dropping off the northern wall. The main one falls about fifteen metres into a wooded pool a few minutes' walk from the car park on a surfaced path, which makes it one of the easiest waterfalls in Ireland to visit. W B Yeats knew the valley as a child and wrote The Stolen Child around it, with the lines about where the wandering water gushes from the hills above Glen-Car; a plaque records it. Further west along the same cliff is the Devil's Chimney, Sruth in Aghaidh an Aird, Ireland's highest waterfall at about 150 metres, which only appears after heavy rain and blows back upward in a strong southerly - a short steep trail leads to it. Both depend entirely on recent rainfall.

What you actually see

• The main fall - about fifteen metres, minutes from the car park.
• The Devil's Chimney - Ireland's highest fall, appearing only after rain.
• The valley - Glencar Lough between limestone walls.
• The Yeats connection - the setting of The Stolen Child.

When to go

After heavy rain, which is when both falls actually run - the Devil's Chimney disappears entirely in dry weather. Autumn and winter are reliable; midsummer often is not.

Honest expectations

In dry spells the main fall is thin and the Devil's Chimney is absent altogether. The car park charges and fills at weekends. The Devil's Chimney trail is steep and slippery.

Nearby

Lough Gill and Sligo are west; the Gleniff Horseshoe and Benbulbin are north.