Rothar Routes

Cycle routes & pilgrim journeys in Ireland and Europe …..

Posts tagged ‘Leitrim’

Sliabh an Iarainn

I followed the soft path uphill through the forestry in the direction of the cliff face of Sliabh Iarainn. I feel drawn to following these ancient pathways that have been worn into the countryside by our ancestors. The Apache Indians were in tune with their surroundings and a trail was often seen as a link with the past. A path trodden by their ancestors, but largely invisible to the living, is littered with traces of memories of those who went before. We too have a rich tapestry here in this country, of traces in place names and in ancient sites and monuments of our past.

I’ve been thinking about this little hike for quite a while, having read about it some years ago in Christopher Sommerville’s delightful book “Walking in Ireland’. Here is the beautiful colour illustration of the route from his website.

I wanted to see the mass rock and today’s NFL game in Carrick on Shannon afforded me the opportunity. A 7.30am start had me at the start point for 10am. It’s only a short walk and it was easy fit it in before heading back down to Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada.

The approach is a gentle climb of just 2kms, though wet underfoot where it crosses squelchy bogland. As it approaches the cliff face it becomes a bit of a scramble. I’ve been trying out hiking poles and today was a good test. They worked well, apart from when I tried to video and had a good tumble!

Mass Rocks were rocks used as altars during the Penal Laws in the 1700s and were usually located in out of the way locations. This one is perfectly hidden from view behind a tall pinnacle and is difficult to find. Once you turn at the pinnacle there is a short little section of roughly cut steps that take you to this unique mass rock. It’s perfectly secluded and with watch outs on duty the priest and his flock could safely celebrate mass without fear of the redcoats or peelers surprising them.

Sliabh an Iarainn derives its name from the iron deposits found in the rock here and they say the iron ore used to make the Ha’penny Bridge in Dublin was mined here on Sliabh Iarainn. It’s a place steeped in ancient history. and it features in The Book of Invasions as the landing place for the ancient race of the Tuatha De Danaan, the people of the gods of Danu. They came in a mist out of the heavens – our alien race?!

I’m smitten with Leitrim. It’s a lovely unspoiled county with some real gems to see. Would like to have had a bit more time to explore further but had to get to the match!

Coast to Coast Day 5

I passed the half way point yesterday somewhere near Lough Talt, so I was feeling good this morning knowing that today would eat another big chunk off the second half of the challenge.

Boyle is a great base to explore a region that is very underrated. There’s loads to see and do around here; the only problem is there’s not much accommodation in the town.

Boyle or bust…

Getting our of Boyle was great – my route took me through Lough Key Forest Park, a place I have fond memories of from a training camp with Mary, Patricia & a bunch of their international team training group. Lough Key is on the edge of the Town and its a gem. Full of beautiful woodland and lakeside walks and activities. A really nice place. Lovely route through for me that took me onto the back roads of lovely Leitrim.

Passed this lovely and unusual octagonal house just after Lough Key Forest Park. Took a left here.

I’m going back to Leitrim at some stage. I like this county. Small. Understated. Beautiful. Quiet. Rural. Not flat – lots of small hills, I was moving into drumlin country. Some wise man described drumlins as akin to half buried eggs and he was right! Up and down, up and down and though not very high, the gradients could be challenging! The early part around the Shannon was nice and flat and beautiful surfaces for biking. Shortly after crossing the Shannon at Battle Bridge I rolled into Leitrim village the gateway to the Shannon Erne Waterway and is a popular stopping off point for cruisers.

The county is very sparsely populated and while I was travelling the back roads, it was even more isolated than expected. I had one 57kms stretch before I came to a shop!

Would the real Fenagh please stand up! We have our own lovely Fenagh village in the centre of Carlow and Leitrim has one too. Even smaller than our one! Its located close to the River Shannon and it wasn’t long before I reached a jetty near Keshcarrigan where I had a great chat with a guy cruising up to Enniskillen who was also a keen cyclist.

Between every drumlin there must be a lake! The route I took brought past so many pristine lakes, too many to have names! It really is beautiful biking country. But the hills are relentless, especially with full panniers. I broke at Carrigallen and had a well earned sambo.

If the hills in Leitrim were a challenge Cavan literally topped them! My elevation graph is like a printout of an ECG… and I thought I might need one of those when I got into Cavan! A bustling town, another place I have good memories of games in Breiffni Park. I though I would have no difficulty in getting a room in town but it bursting at the seams and I was lucky to get one in the Kilmore Hotel. It was my earliest finish yet to a days cycling which I was glad of.

Hands off Creature!
Back roads video clip

Malin Head to Mizen Head Day 3

Enniskillen to Ballymahon 114 kms

Cuilcagh Mountain on a sunny Sunday morning

People often comment that going for a long cycle is some feat of human endurance. Nothing is further from the truth! There’s no denying that cycling 100kms day after day brings a little pain, especially when the weather takes a turn for the worst, or the road continues to rise in front of you and you feel exhausted. Ironically these obstacles are easier manage if considered a part of the deal! Understand that and the sense of achievement is heightened greatly. And we were greatly looking forward to today’s cycle as it involved some cycling in hilly isolated parts of Cavan and down through Leitrim, parts of the country that we wouldn’t get to visit very often.

It was a cracking morning, blue sky, and even at 9am, it was warm for cycling. The route from Enniskillen took us towards Swanlinbar; if we had more time we would have turned off and taken in the Marble Arch Caves in the Cuilcagh Mountains but that’s for another day..

Another great benefit of cycle touring is the freedom of the open road. You can truly experience the places you visit and get to meet people and have a quick chat and gain the benefit from local knowledge. There’s no queueing, no traffic and no delays! As we turned onto Church road and headed for the hills, we had a great chat with a local family and the offer to fill our water bottles. It’s the little things..

Heading into hill country out of Swanlinbar on a tiny traffic free road.

We’d lots of climbing across heavily forested lands in Cavan and Leitrim. It’s easy see why many people in lovely Leitrim are so put out by the concentration of forestry in this sparsely populated county. 19% of Leitrim is covered in Sitka Spruce plantations. Isolated houses are completely surrounded by massive stands of gigantic trees that prevent day light falling in their gardens. There’s an eery silence in sitka plantations; the air is still, frost doesn’t lift easily in winter and there can be a great sense of isolation. The flip side of the coin is that for many small farmers, it’s the only way to make their enterprise viable. Perhaps a greater diversity of planting might satisfy both sides of the argument.

Leitrim actor, writer and playwright Seamus O Rourke captures the essence of Lovely Leitrim and the border counties in his priceless series of video clips. Here he muses on lockdown in Leitrim and forestry gets a mention too!

Whatever about the impact of Leitrim there’s nothing nicer than cycling in the shade of those big trees as we pushed on uphill on our lonely road for the next eight kilometres and then the thrilling descent into Ballinamore.

In this decade of centenaries there are many plaques in the most unlikely of places across the country. Ballinamore pays tribute to Leitrim natives, Seán MacDiarmada and Thomas Clarke, two of the leaders of the 1916 Rising and both signatories of the Proclamation of The Irish Republic. Thats one of the nice things about the bike, you get to see these small details and gain an appreciation of place, people and our history.

With 60kms to go, a quick ice cream was in order and we headed on to Cloone and Mohill and passed through the grounds of Lough Rynn Castle. Definitely the nicest place we didn’t stay!

Two crossings of the Shannon, one at Rooskey brought us into Roscommon and a lovely road all the way to Termonbarry, where we again crossed back over Ireland’s largest river before wheeling towards the start of the Royal Canal at Cloondara.

Cloondara is a lovely place to stay over with its pretty harbour and picnic tables and is the start of the Royal Canal Greenway and the continuation of the National Famine Way. The National Famine Way is a Trail detailing the ill-fated journey of 1,490 famine emigrants who walked from Strokestown Park to ships in Dublin in 1847, at the height of the Irish Famine. It’s an horrific episode in our history and the Famine Museum in nearby Strokestown is a must see to understand the impact the Famine had on Ireland in the 19th Century.

Very evocative markers on the National Famine Way depict a childrens pair of shoes representing children who died on the march..

The Royal Canal Greenway is the most recent of the dedicated Greenways in the country and links Cloondara with Dublin. It’s easy cycling and we quickly covered the kilometres to our day’s destination in Ballymahon and our welcome bed for the night in Skellys on the Main Street. Another satisfying day and 278 kms nearer to Mizen Head!