Ireland - Trail Riding?

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MotoCP
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Ireland - Trail Riding?

Post by MotoCP »

Just back from a 1400 mile week long touring holiday in Ireland (by car) and the question the Mrs and I always ask ourselves when visiting somewhere new is - could we live here?

After experiencing the warm welcome of the laid back locals, stunning countryside/coastline/quiet sandy beaches, cosmopolitan towns/city’s/hotels, great biking roads, shops selling local produce/crafts/art, superb food and fab bars serving black custard (Guinness) the answer is YES (despite melting the credit card!).
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BUT….

There appears to be no trail riding scene?

During the whole week I bet we saw less than 30 bikes which were mainly sports tourers, a convoy of 6 Goldwings and the odd two up panniered adventure bike here and there but didn’t see one road legal off road bike/dirty knobbly shod adventure bike (or shop/dealership) anywhere.

So, are there any legal green lanes to ride in Ireland?
I assume so for events like the Paddy Dakar to run but I don’t recall reading any trip reports of folk visiting the Emerald Isle to trail ride independently.
Richard Simpson Mark II
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Re: Ireland - Trail Riding?

Post by Richard Simpson Mark II »

there are few bikeshops in the RoI, because until Brexit everyone went North of the Border to buy cheap UK market bikes: Made Phil MacCallum a very rich man.
Flintlock
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Re: Ireland - Trail Riding?

Post by Flintlock »

With regards to Northern Ireland there are not many trails here. The ones that are here are few and far between - you need to do a bit of research to find them - mainly in the upland areas of the Sperrins. There are some Forest Roads across the Province too that you can ride on.
Across the border Co Donegal would have some unsurfaced roads - again in the more remote areas and, again a bit of research required ( Google maps, street view etc) I have also seen folk riding trails across the hills above Omeath in Co Louth, and know of folk who have done trails in Cavan & Leitrim
What we do have is countless small single track roads taking you through and to some great spots both North and South of the border.

Good luck on your quest.
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Snaf MKII
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Re: Ireland - Trail Riding?

Post by Snaf MKII »

We've done a tour around the south picking up some trails around Dingle but they're not big bike friendly as they tend to peter out in to peat bogs. A friend who's sadly no longer with us used to lead regular trips in the area on trail/enduro bikes. I can't recall what maps we used but I don't think there's a hierarchy of public rights of way which makes it easy to discover where you can and can't go.

We did the Paddy Dakar which had some trails but was mostly back roads and forest trails.

There was also the Rally of Discovery events in the past that had trails included.
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P4ulie
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Re: Ireland - Trail Riding?

Post by P4ulie »

I spent a week in Cork a few years back & found just going for a walk eye opening, once you're off the moors everything is fenced, with very little public access. They just don't have the footpath / bridleway / byway networks we are used to here & you're pretty much stuck on the roads; which to be fair are usually so quiet you give a wave when you see anyone
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MotoCP
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Re: Ireland - Trail Riding?

Post by MotoCP »

Thanks for all your replies.

I should do a bit of research but tbh I’ve become a bit lazy since the TET app made life so easy for long distance trail riding!
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Re: Ireland - Trail Riding?

Post by bikenav »

From my experience of maybe 3000 miles of mostly SW of Ireland there just is not the network of tracks and trails on the ground let alone them being motor vehicle legal, similarly footpaths are rare as said already. I do wing it down tracks here and there, as I can remember there were one or two that were through routes and one where a local farmer spotting my scruffy bike and lumpyish tyres insisted I went good too near Conemara. Its just not going to be a trail riding destination, but it can be great if you like rough interesting small roads and are willing and have the time to do a few dead ends.
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