Ballyhoura Announces Exciting Upgrades to Outdoor Amenities for 2022 Season.

1) Upgrade of Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Trails

Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Trails is Ireland's most extensive mountain bike trail network, with road climbs, tight twists-and-turns, off-roads, ups-and-downs and much more. Its 98km of trails are set deep in the lush forest, nestled in the Ballyhoura Mountains, which is alive with native wildlife.

These upgrades will be music to the ears of both novice riders starting out, as well as to bikers who are much more experienced. Coillte, who are developing National Mountain Bike Centres around the country, have graded the final descent to the trailhead as a gentle blue trail, while there are plans to develop more challenging red and black descents for the thrill-seeking bikers!

You can feel comfortable taking on the trails at a speed suited to you!

2) Brand New Signage on the Ballyhoura Nature Trail

The Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Centre is also a starting point of the Ballyhoura Nature Trail, a 40-minute 2km investigation of over 20 hidden creatures in the woods that kiddies have to try to uncover on their walk.

The Nature Trail has been upgraded with newly-erected Nature & Wildlife signage earlier this year; this is a great addition to this unique experience. It’s a wonderfully enjoyable way for children to investigate and learn about the many creatures that live in the forest; these little creatures are nestled amongst the trees and you need to keep your eyes peeled to discover them, so this new signage will be a great help to the intrepid young nature detectives!

3) Ballyhoura Walks – 7 Walking Trails Added to the Government Walks Scheme

Ballyhoura is a walker’s paradise, offering a wide variety of walking experiences – you can explore riverbanks, deep forests, gurgling streams, rugged mountains, rich bogs and ancient mythical landscapes. There are 21 waymarked looped walks in the region, with difficulties ranging from novice to expert.

In October 2021, the Government Walks Scheme added the Ballyhoura Way and 6 other Ballyhoura loop walks to its scheme, which was launched in 2008 to facilitate the development and maintenance of key walking trails by private landholders. This is the first time that local trails in the Ballyhoura area will be added to the scheme, which provides funding to farmers and other landowners to maintain the trails that travel through their holdings. The investment is designed to further enhance the Ballyhoura outdoor amenities product and the experience of visitors to the area.

4) New Walking Loop Developed in Ballyhoura – The Slieve Reagh Loop Walk

The development of the 15km-long Slieve Reagh Loop Walk, which starts at the Tourist Office in Kilfinane and wends its way along quiet country roads and through a peaceful mature forest – which offers spectacular views of the Ballyhoura region – before returning to the village, means that there are now three loops in the Kilfinane Walking Hub, alongside Kilfinane Loop and Ballinvreena Loop. *This project was funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS).

5) Upgrade of the “Ballyhoura Outdoor Classroom” – Griston Bog

Griston Bog, one of the Ballyhoura Outdoor Classrooms has recently undergone an upgrade (also funded by ORIS) with a new classroom, boardwalk, dipping pond, wheelchair-accessible toilets, and extended parking. The Outdoor Classrooms (the other four are Lough Gur, Doneraile Wildlife Park, Mitchelstown Caves and Croker’s Bee Farm) are unique and inspiring places, specially chosen and managed for learning about nature, and they are accredited national Discover Primary Science and Maths Centres. Griston Bog is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna, bees and insects and different types of water life, some of which are now in danger of extinction in many parts of the world. It is rich in insect life which in turn supports many birds and other animals such as frogs, newts and lizards. This project was also funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS).

6) New Fundings and New Upgrades for 2022

Lots of new upgrades of the existing walks are planned in 2022, all of which are funded under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS):

• The popular Castlegale Loop and Darby’s Bed Loop Walk will get upgraded with new nature boards, picnic benches, signage and path upgrades. Both are registered National Trails loops with Sport Ireland.

• Further investment for the Kilmallock Riverside Walk - Kilmallock is one of Ireland’s best-hidden gems, a medieval walled town that is absolutely packed with fascinating historical buildings and features.

• Development of trails in Croom and Bruff. In Croom, the further development of the Riverside Walk will see an investment of €198,000. Works envisaged include resurfacing and landscaping of the trail from Croom Mill towards Islanmore. Meanwhile, the investment of €200,000 in the Bruff to Holycross Slí Na Sláinte will see further development of the 2.5km trail and see greater connectivity between Bruff and Holy Cross, and on to Lough Gur. These investments will strengthen the local community recreational infrastructure, providing better access to locals and visitors to enjoy the outdoors safely and continuing to build the area’s reputation for outdoor activities.

7) Ballyhoura Country partners with Leave No Trace Ireland

One of the initiatives taken by Ballyhoura at their highly successful Walking Festival in October 2021, was to partner with Leave No Trace Ireland, an Outdoor Ethics Education Programme designed to promote and inspire responsible outdoor recreation through education, research and partnerships. It saw the more than 300 festival participants enthusiastically embrace the programme’s seven principles; these include planning your trip, respecting your fellow humans as well as farm animals and wildlife, disposing of your rubbish, being careful with fire, and essentially leaving no trace of your visit to the countryside.